Where to find spell check and turn it on
Spell check is built into almost every writing program — Word, Google Docs, Apple Pages — and it runs automatically in the background as you type. You do not have to do anything to start it. The program watches for words it does not recognize and marks them, usually with a red squiggly underline.
If you do not see red underlines under misspelled words, spell check may be turned off. In Microsoft Word, go to the File menu, select Options, then Proofing, and make sure the box next to "Check spelling as you type" is checked. In Google Docs, open the Tools menu and select Spelling and grammar — if it says "No spelling or grammar issues found", the feature is on. In Apple Pages, go to Edit menu and look for Spelling and Grammar options.
Some programs let you choose which language spell check uses. If you write in multiple languages or use a lot of technical terms, you may need to change this setting so the program stops marking correct words as wrong.
Key Takeaways
- Spell check runs automatically in Word, Google Docs, and Pages as you type, marking suspected errors with red underlines.
- Right-click any red-underlined word to see suggestions, accept the suggestion, or tell the program to ignore it.
- Spell check catches typos and misspellings but misses words that are spelled correctly but used in the wrong place, like "their" instead of "there".
- You can run a full document check at any time by opening the Tools or Review menu and selecting the spelling option, which scans the entire document at once.
- Adding words to your dictionary prevents the program from marking them as errors in the future, which is useful for names, technical terms, and brand names.
How to fix one word at a time
When you see a red squiggly underline, right-click on that word. A menu appears with suggestions for what the word should be. If one of the suggestions is correct, click it and the program replaces the misspelled word when ready.
If none of the suggestions look right, you can type the correct spelling yourself. Delete the underlined word and type the correct version. The red underline disappears once the program recognizes the new word.
If the word is spelled correctly but the program does not recognize it — a person's name, a company name, or a technical term — right-click and select "Add to Dictionary" or "Ignore All". The program stops marking that word as an error from that point forward.
How to check your entire document at once
If you want to scan the whole document instead of fixing errors as you go, you can run a full spell check. In Microsoft Word, press Ctrl+A to select all text, then go to the Review tab and click Spelling and Grammar. In Google Docs, open the Tools menu and select Spelling and Grammar. In Apple Pages, go to Edit and select Spelling and Grammar.
The program opens a panel that shows each error one at a time. For each word, you can choose a suggestion, ignore it, or add it to your dictionary. Once you finish, the panel closes and you return to your document.
Running a full check is useful when you finish writing and want to catch anything you missed while typing. It is also the only way to find errors that spell check may have skipped because you were not looking at that part of the page.
What spell check can and cannot catch
Spell check is very good at finding typos — letters in the wrong order, letters left out, or letters added by mistake. It catches "teh" instead of "the" and "recieve" instead of "receive" when ready.
Spell check cannot catch words that are spelled correctly but used in the wrong place. If you write "I went their" instead of "I went there", spell check does not flag it because "their" is a real word. The same is true for "its" versus "it's", "your" versus "you're", and "to" versus "too". These are called homophones — words that sound the same but mean different things.
Some programs offer a grammar check feature that catches some of these mistakes, but it is not perfect. Grammar check looks at how words fit together in a sentence, not just whether they are spelled right. In Google Docs and Microsoft Word, grammar check is a separate tool you can turn on in the same menu where you find spell check.
How to add words to your dictionary
Your program keeps a personal dictionary of words you use often. When you right-click a red-underlined word and select "Add to Dictionary", the program remembers that word and stops marking it as an error in any document you write from that point forward.
This is useful for names that appear in many of your documents. If you write about a person named "Sasha" or a company called "Zenith", add those words to your dictionary once and you will never see them underlined again. The same goes for technical terms, brand names, or words from other languages that you use regularly.
Be careful when adding words — if you add a misspelled word by mistake, you will have to go back and remove it from your dictionary. In Word, go to File > Options > Proofing > Custom Dictionaries to see and edit your dictionary. In Google Docs, there is no way to edit your dictionary directly, but you can click the X next to a word in the spelling panel to remove it from your list.
Why spell check marks some words you think are correct
Spell check uses a built-in dictionary of common words. If a word is not in that dictionary, the program marks it as an error. This happens most often with proper nouns — names of people, places, and companies — which are not in the standard dictionary.
It also happens with very new words, words from other languages, or technical terms specific to your field. A medical term like "laparoscopy" or a brand name like "Kleenex" might be marked as wrong even though they are spelled correctly. Adding these words to your dictionary solves the problem.
Some programs let you choose a different dictionary or add a specialized dictionary for your field. In Microsoft Word, you can read additional dictionaries for medical, legal, or technical terms. In Google Docs, you can switch the language or region to match where you are writing.
How to turn spell check off if you need to
In most cases, you want spell check on. But if you are working on a document with many proper nouns or technical terms and the constant red underlines are distracting, you can turn it off temporarily.
In Microsoft Word, go to File > Options > Proofing and uncheck "Check spelling as you type". In Google Docs, open Tools > Spelling and Grammar and toggle it off. In Apple Pages, go to Edit > Spelling and Grammar and uncheck the option. You can turn it back on the same way whenever you are ready.
Turning spell check off does not delete your document or lose any work — it just stops the program from marking errors. You can still run a manual spell check later by opening the Tools or Review menu.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does spell check work the same way in all programs?
The basic idea is the same — the program marks misspelled words and offers suggestions — but the menus and settings are different in each program. Word uses the Review tab, Google Docs uses the Tools menu, and Pages uses the Edit menu. The red underline appears in all of them, and right-clicking always brings up suggestions.
Can I use spell check on my phone or tablet?
Most phones and tablets have built-in spell check for text messages and email. Word, Google Docs, and Pages all have mobile versions with spell check, though the interface is smaller and sometimes harder to use. Spell check works the same way — tap the underlined word to see suggestions.
What is the difference between spell check and grammar check?
Spell check looks for words that are misspelled or not in the dictionary. Grammar check looks at how words fit together in sentences and catches mistakes like "their" instead of "there" or missing punctuation. Grammar check is less reliable than spell check and sometimes marks correct sentences as wrong.
If I add a word to my dictionary by mistake, can I remove it?
In Microsoft Word, go to File > Options > Proofing > Custom Dictionaries to see and delete words. In Google Docs, you cannot edit the dictionary directly, but you can click the X next to a word in the spelling panel to remove it. In Apple Pages, you can remove words through the Spelling and Grammar settings.
Why does spell check not catch every mistake?
Spell check only catches misspelled words and words not in its dictionary. It cannot catch words that are spelled correctly but used in the wrong place, like "I went their" instead of "there". Reading your document out loud or having someone else read it is the best way to catch mistakes spell check misses.