Spell check in Word stops working most often because it's turned off, the language is set wrong, or the file is in a format Word doesn't check

Word has spell check turned on by default, but it can be disabled without you realizing it — sometimes by accident when you change settings, sometimes because a previous user turned it off. The second common reason is that your document language is set to a language you don't use, so Word doesn't recognize your words as misspelled. The third is that you're working in a file format — usually .txt or .csv — where Word doesn't run spell check at all.

The fastest way to know which problem you have is to type a word you know is spelled wrong, like "teh" instead of "the". If Word doesn't underline it in red, spell check is off or the language is wrong. If it does underline it, spell check is working and you may be looking in the wrong place for the problem.

Key Takeaways

  • Type an intentionally misspelled word to test whether spell check is actually off or whether you're looking in the wrong place.
  • Turn spell check back on in Word by going to File > Options > Proofing and checking the box next to "Check spelling as you type".
  • If spell check is on but not working, check that your document language matches the language you're writing in — go to Review > Language and set it correctly.
  • Spell check does not work in plain text files (.txt) or comma-separated files (.csv), only in Word documents (.docx or .doc).
  • If you've hidden spelling errors on purpose, you can unhide them by going to File > Options > Proofing and clicking "Recheck Document".

Turn spell check back on in Word

Open Word and go to File in the top left corner. Click Options at the bottom of the menu that appears. In the window that opens, click Proofing on the left side.

Look for a checkbox that says "Check spelling as you type". If the box is empty, click it to turn spell check on. If the box already has a checkmark, spell check is on and the problem is something else — skip to the next section. Click OK at the bottom right to save the change.

Close Word completely and open it again. Spell check should now underline misspelled words in red as you type. If it still doesn't, the language setting is probably wrong.

Set the document language to match what you're writing

Word checks spelling against a dictionary for a specific language. If your document is set to Spanish but you're writing in English, Word won't recognize English words as correct. Go to the Review tab at the top of the Word window. On the right side, click Language, then Set Proofing Language.

A window will open showing a list of languages. Find and click the language you're writing in — usually English (United States) or English (United Kingdom) depending on where you are. Make sure the checkbox next to it that says "Do not check spelling or grammar" is not checked. Click OK.

If you have multiple languages in the same document, you can set different languages for different sections. Highlight the text in one language, then repeat the steps above to set that section's language separately. This is useful if you're writing a document that mixes English and another language.

Check that you're working in a Word document, not a text file

Spell check only works in Word document files (.docx or .doc). If your file ends in .txt, .csv, .rtf, or any other extension, Word won't check spelling even if spell check is turned on. You can see what format your file is in by looking at the name at the very top of the Word window — it will say something like "Document1.docx" or "MyFile.txt".

If you're working in a .txt or .csv file and want spell check, save it as a Word document instead. Go to File > Save As. In the window that opens, click the dropdown that says "Save as type" and choose Word Document (.docx). Click Save. Your file will now be in a format where spell check works.

Be aware that converting a .csv file (comma-separated values, used for spreadsheets and data) to .docx will change how it looks — the columns and structure may not stay the same. If you need to keep it as .csv, you can copy the text into a new Word document instead and work there.

Unhide spelling errors you may have hidden on purpose

Word lets you tell it to ignore a word or hide spelling errors in a document. If you right-clicked a red-underlined word and chose "Ignore All" or "Add to Dictionary", Word will stop marking it as wrong. If you've done this by accident and want to see all spelling errors again, you can reset it.

Go to File > Options > Proofing. Click the button that says "Recheck Document". Word will go through your entire document again and mark all spelling errors it finds, including ones you told it to ignore before. This does not undo adding a word to your personal dictionary — if you added a word on purpose, you'll need to remove it manually by going to File > Options > Proofing > Custom Dictionaries and editing the list there.

Check for updates to Word

Spell check can stop working if Word is out of date. Go to File > Account and look for a button that says "Update Options" or "Check for Updates". Click it and let Word read and install any updates available. You may need to restart your computer.

If you're using Word through Microsoft 365 (the subscription version), updates usually happen automatically, but checking manually can speed things up. If you're using an older standalone version of Word that's no longer supported, Microsoft may have stopped providing spell-check updates for it — in that case, upgrading to a newer version is the only fix.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does spell check work in some documents but not others?

The document language setting is usually the reason. If you opened a document someone else created, it may be set to a different language than the one you're writing in. Go to Review > Language and check what language is selected. You can also have spell check turned off just for that one document — go to File > Options > Proofing and look for a dropdown that says "Exceptions for" with the document name next to it.

Can I turn off spell check for just one word?

Yes. Right-click the red-underlined word and choose "Ignore All" to tell Word to stop marking it as wrong in this document only. If you want Word to never mark it as wrong in any document, choose "Add to Dictionary" instead. You can remove words from your dictionary later by going to File > Options > Proofing > Custom Dictionaries.

What if spell check is on but it's not catching my mistakes?

Spell check catches misspelled words, but not grammar mistakes or words spelled correctly but used wrong — like "their" instead of "there". For that, turn on grammar checking: go to File > Options > Proofing and check "Mark grammar errors as you type". You can also use the Editor pane by going to Review > Editor to see more detailed writing suggestions.

Does spell check work the same way in Word online as in the desktop version?

Word online has spell check, but it works slightly differently and has fewer options. The basic on-and-off switch is the same, but you won't find all the same settings. If you need full control over spell check, use the desktop version of Word instead of the browser version.