Degree Symbol on Keyboard: Every Shortcut and Method

The degree symbol (°) isn’t on most keyboards. At least not anywhere obvious.

And yet it comes up constantly. Weather apps, cooking recipes, scientific papers, engineering specs, HVAC documentation, school worksheets. Anyone who types about temperature eventually runs into the problem.

Compare these three ways to write the same information:

“Set your oven to 350F.”

“Set your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.”

“Set your oven to 350°F.”

The third option is the most professional. It’s also the shortest. The only catch is getting that tiny ° onto your screen without interrupting what you’re doing.

This page covers every method for every platform: Mac, Windows with and without a numpad, iPhone, Android, Chromebook, and Linux. Plus how to insert it in Google Docs and Word, the Unicode reference for developers, and the fastest method for people who type it constantly.

Copy the degree symbol

Need it right now? Copy it here: °

Related symbols you might need:

Degrees Fahrenheit: °F

Degrees Celsius: °C

Degree symbol on Mac

Shortcut: Option + Shift + 8

Hold Option and Shift together, then press 8. That’s it. Works in every app on macOS.

If you’d rather browse for it: go to Edit > Emoji & Symbols (or press Fn + E on newer Macs with a Globe key) and search “degree.”

Degree symbol on Windows

Windows has more than one method, and which one you use depends on your keyboard.

With a numeric keypad

Hold Alt, type 0176 on the numpad, then release Alt. The ° appears.

One thing that trips people up: this only works on the dedicated numeric keypad, not the number row across the top of your keyboard.

Without a numeric keypad

Most laptops don’t have a numpad. Here are three options that work:

Win + . (emoji panel): Press the Windows key and the period key at the same time. The emoji and symbols panel opens. Type “degree” in the search box. Works on Windows 10 and Windows 11, and it’s probably the most reliable no-numpad method.

Character Map: Search for “Character Map” in the Start menu. Find the degree sign, click Copy, and paste. Slower than the shortcut, but it works on every Windows machine.

Virtual numpad via Fn: Some laptops have a virtual numpad hidden in the letter keys (look for small numbers printed on J, K, L, U, I, O, and similar keys). If yours does, try Fn + NumLk to enable it, then use Alt + 0176. Check your laptop’s documentation to confirm.

In Microsoft Word

There’s a slicker option in Word: type 00B0 and immediately press Alt + X. Word converts the code to the degree symbol. You can also use Insert > Symbol > More Symbols, search for character code 00B0, and insert it from there.

Degree symbol on iPhone

Hold down the 0 key on the iPhone keyboard. A small pop-up appears with the ° symbol. Tap it.

This works everywhere the standard iOS keyboard appears: Messages, Mail, Notes, Safari, third-party apps, all of it. The hold-and-pop gesture has been there for years and a lot of people have never discovered it.

Degree symbol on Android

Most Android keyboards follow the same pattern:

Long-press the 0 key. If you’re on Gboard (the default for most Android phones), the ° appears in a pop-up above the key. Slide up to it or lift your finger over it to select.

If that doesn’t work, tap ?123 to switch to the number keyboard, then long-press 0.

Degree symbol on Chromebook

Use Unicode input: press Ctrl + Shift + U, release all three keys, type 00b0, then press Enter or Space.

This works in most Chromebook apps including Google Docs, Gmail, and the Chrome browser itself. You can also open the character picker from the system tray if your Chromebook has one configured.

Degree symbol on Linux

The Unicode input method works on most Linux distributions: press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 00b0, then press Enter. This works in GTK apps, which covers most of what you’d use on a standard GNOME desktop.

If you’ve set up a Compose key, the sequence Compose + d + e + g inserts ° in many configurations. This varies depending on how your Compose key is mapped.

Degree symbol in Google Docs

Go to Insert > Special characters. Search for “degree” in the search box. Click the ° symbol to insert it at your cursor.

The Mac and Windows shortcuts also work while you’re editing a Google Doc. Option + Shift + 8 on Mac, or Win + . on Windows, will insert the symbol without leaving the document.

Fahrenheit symbol and Celsius symbol

The Fahrenheit symbol is °F. The Celsius symbol is °C. Both are typed as the degree symbol followed by the letter F or C.

There isn’t a separate single-character Unicode entry for °F or °C as a combined unit. You type the degree sign and the letter. The Unicode standard does include legacy symbols U+2109 (℉) and U+2103 (℃), but these are compatibility characters for older systems and aren’t recommended in modern use.

Unicode and HTML quick reference

Context | Code
Unicode code point | U+00B0
HTML named entity | &deg;
HTML numeric entity | &#176;
CSS content property | “\00B0”
UTF-8 hex bytes | 0xC2 0xB0

The fastest method for people who type this constantly

Every method above works. All of them involve stopping what you’re doing, remembering a keyboard shortcut, switching contexts, or visiting a separate tool. For someone who types the degree symbol once a month, that’s fine.

For meteorologists, HVAC professionals, chefs, science teachers, lab technicians, or anyone who writes about temperature regularly, those interruptions add up fast.

TextExpander solves this with text expansion Snippets: type a short abbreviation, and it automatically expands to the symbol in any app, on any platform, without breaking your typing flow.

You decide the abbreviations. Common setups:

xdeg expands to °

xdegf expands to °F

xdegc expands to °C

fah expands to Fahrenheit (because the spelling is genuinely difficult)

The expansion happens the instant you finish typing the abbreviation. No Alt codes, no hold-press gestures, no menu navigation. You can also set up Snippets for other symbols, corrections, and frequently-typed phrases. If your team types similar content, you can share Snippet groups so everyone uses the same abbreviations.

See how TextExpander works

Select a snippet you would like to try

Degree Symbol

Degrees Fahrenheit

Degrees Celcius

Fahrenheit

Type this shortcut below xdegree

Type this shortcut below deg.fah

Type this shortcut below deg.cel

Type this shortcut below fah

°

°F

°C

Fahrenheit

Try TextExpander yourself with a 30-day free trial and discover what TextExpander can do for you and your team. Team pricing starts as low as $8.33 per user per month. Start your free trial

Frequently asked questions

What is the keyboard shortcut for the degree symbol?

On Mac: Option + Shift + 8. On Windows with a numpad: hold Alt and type 0176. On Windows without a numpad: Win + . opens the emoji panel where you can search “degree.” On iPhone or Android: hold the 0 key on the keyboard for a pop-up with the ° symbol.

How do I type the degree symbol without a number pad?

On Windows, press Win + . to open the emoji and symbols panel, then search for “degree.” On Mac, Option + Shift + 8 works regardless of keyboard type. On Chromebook or Linux, press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 00b0, and press Enter.

What is the Unicode for the degree symbol?

The Unicode code point is U+00B0. In HTML, use &deg; or &#176;. In CSS, use "\00B0" in a content property.

How do I type the degrees Fahrenheit symbol?

Type the degree symbol using your platform’s method, then type F. There’s no single-key combination for °F. If you type it frequently, create a TextExpander Snippet with a short abbreviation that expands to °F automatically.

How do I type the degree symbol on my phone?

On iPhone, hold the 0 key and a ° symbol pops up. On Android with Gboard, hold the 0 key for the same result. If that fails, switch to the number keyboard view and long-press 0.