The Find and Replace feature in Word lets you search for a word or phrase and swap it for something else throughout your document in seconds
Microsoft Word's Find and Replace tool does the work for you instead of hunting through pages manually. You can replace a single instance, all instances at once, or review each one before you approve the change. The feature works the same way in Word for Windows, Word for Mac, and Word Online, though the keyboard shortcut differs slightly.
This is especially useful when you've used the wrong term throughout a long document, changed your mind about phrasing, or need to update names, dates, or product references across multiple pages at once.
Key Takeaways
- Open Find and Replace by pressing Ctrl+H on Windows or Command+H on Mac, or use the menu: Home tab, then Edit (or Find & Replace) button.
- Type the word or phrase you want to find in the "Find what" field and the replacement text in the "Replace with" field.
- Click "Replace All" to change every instance at once, or "Replace" to approve each change one by one.
- Use "Match case" if you need to preserve capital letters, or "Whole words only" to avoid replacing partial matches inside other words.
- Word shows you how many replacements were made so you can undo the action if something went wrong.
Opening Find and Replace in Word
The fastest way is the keyboard shortcut: press Ctrl+H on Windows or Command+H on Mac. A dialog box will open when ready.
If you prefer the menu, go to the Home tab at the top of the screen. On Windows, look for the Editing group on the right side and click the dropdown arrow next to the magnifying glass icon, then select "Replace". On Mac, click Find & Replace in the same area. In Word Online, click the Edit menu and choose Find and Replace.
The dialog box has two main fields: "Find what" at the top and "Replace with" below it. You'll also see several buttons and checkboxes that control how the search works.
Entering your search term and replacement text
Click in the "Find what" field and type the word or phrase you want to search for. Be exact—if you type "colour" it will not find "color" unless you use the search options described below.
Click in the "Replace with" field and type what you want to replace it with. If you want to delete a word entirely, leave this field blank and Word will remove the search term wherever it appears.
For example, if your document says "Please contact the Sales Department" in five places and you want to change it to "Please contact the Sales Team", type "Sales Department" in the Find field and "Sales Team" in the Replace field.
Replacing one instance or all at once
Once you've entered both fields, you have two choices. Click Replace All to change every instance in the document without reviewing each one. Word will tell you how many replacements it made. This is fastest when you're confident the change is correct throughout.
Click Replace to change only the first instance Word finds, then review the next match. Word will highlight each occurrence one at a time, and you can click Replace again to approve it, click Find Next to skip it, or click Replace All to change this one and every remaining match without further review.
If you want to see all matches before making any changes, click Find All (or Find Next repeatedly) to navigate through them without replacing anything yet.
Using search options to refine your search
Word offers checkboxes that make your search more precise. Match case tells Word to distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters—so searching for "John" will not find "john". This is useful when you need to preserve proper nouns or specific formatting.
Whole words only prevents Word from replacing partial matches. For example, if you search for "cat" without this option checked, it will replace "cat" inside "category" or "concatenate". With "Whole words only" checked, it will only replace the standalone word "cat".
Other options like "Match diacritics" (accents and special marks) and "Match prefix" or "Match suffix" are available if you click More Options or the arrow to expand the dialog. Most everyday replacements do not need these, but they're there if your document contains accented characters or you need to match word parts.
Undoing a replacement if something went wrong
If you click "Replace All" and realize the change was wrong, press Ctrl+Z on Windows or Command+Z on Mac when ready to undo. Word will reverse all the replacements at once and restore the original text.
This is why reviewing a few instances with the Replace button (one at a time) is safer when you're uncertain. Once you close the Find and Replace dialog and make other edits, undoing becomes harder, so take a moment to check the results before closing the box.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
Forgetting to check "Whole words only" is the most common error. If you search for "the" and replace it with "that" without this option, you'll accidentally change "theater" to "thatter" and "theme" to "thatme". Always use "Whole words only" unless you specifically want to replace partial matches.
Another mistake is leaving extra spaces in your search term. If you type " cat " (with spaces before and after) in the Find field, Word will only find "cat" when it appears with spaces around it, and it will miss "cat," or "cat." at the end of a sentence. Type the word itself and let Word handle spacing, or be intentional about spaces if that's part of what you're replacing.
Closing the dialog before checking the results is also risky. Always glance at the document after a Replace All to make sure the changes look correct, especially if you're replacing common words or abbreviations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I search for line breaks or paragraph marks?
Yes. Click More Options to expand the dialog, then look for Special. You can search for paragraph marks (^p), line breaks (^l), or tabs (^t) by selecting them from the menu. This is useful if you need to remove extra blank lines or reformat spacing throughout a document.
What if I want to replace text only in a specific section of my document?
Select the text you want to search in before opening Find and Replace. Word will limit the search to your selection. If you don't select anything, it searches the entire document.
Does Find and Replace work with formatting, like bold or italics?
Yes, but it requires the expanded dialog. Click More Options, then Format in the Find field to search for text with specific formatting. You can also explore formatting to the replacement text by clicking Format in the Replace field. For example, you could find all instances of "important" and replace them with "important" in bold.
Can I use wildcards or partial matches?
Yes. Click More Options and check Use wildcards. Then you can use symbols like * (any number of characters) or ? (any single character) in your search. For example, searching for "cat*" would find "cat", "cats", "catalog", and "catastrophe". This is advanced and not needed for most replacements.
What's the difference between Find and Replace and Find?
Find (Ctrl+F) only searches and highlights matches—it doesn't change anything. Replace (Ctrl+H) lets you search and swap text. Use Find when you just want to locate something; use Replace when you want to change it.