How to Find and Replace Text in Microsoft Word

This tutorial shows how to find and replace text in Microsoft Word.

If you want to find and replace text with specific font formatting (e.g., boldness, italics), please see my previous tutorial “How to Find and Replace Font Formatting in Microsoft Word.”

Watch all the steps shown here in real time!

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The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365. These steps also apply to Word 2021, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013.

Are you on a Mac? Please see “How to Find and Replace Text in Word for Mac.”

How to Find and Replace Text

Select the Home tab in the ribbon.

Home tab in Word 365 — Figure 1. Home tab

Select Replace in the Editing group.

Replace button in the Home tab in Word 365 — Figure 2. Replace button

Type the text you want to find in the Find what text box in the Find and Replace dialog box.

Find what text box in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word 365 — Figure 3. Find what text box

Type the replacement text into the Replace with text box.

Replace with text box in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word 365 — Figure 4. Replace with text box

Select the More button to expand the dialog box.

More button in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word 365 — Figure 5. More button

Select a direction option in the Search menu.

- All searches the entire document.
- Down searches below your current cursor placement.
- Up searches above your current cursor placement.

Search menu in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word 365 — Figure 6. Search menu

(Optional) Refine your search with additional options such as Match Case (i.e., lowercase and uppercase letters) and Find whole words only, which will prevent Word from finding words that are part of compounds, such as “sun” in “sunshine.”

Search options in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word 365 — Figure 7. Search options

Select Find Next to find the next occurrence of the text. Once found, select Replace to make the replacement. (See step 10 for the Replace All option.)

Replace and Find Next buttons in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word 365 — Figure 8. Find Next and Replace buttons

Select the OK button in the dialog box that appears at the end of the search.

Finished searching dialog box in Word 365 — Figure 9. OK button

(Alternative to Find Next and Replace) Select Replace All to make all the replacements at once.

Replace All button in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word 365 — Figure 10. Replace All button

Select OK in the dialog box reporting how many replacements were made.

Number of Replacements dialog box in Word 365 — Figure 11. OK button

Select the Close button.

Close button in the Find and Replace dialog box in Word 365 — Figure 12. Close button

Pro Tip: Find and Replace Keyboard Shortcut

Press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + H to open the Find and Replace dialog box directly in the Replace tab.

Related Resources

How to Find and Replace Special Characters in Microsoft Word

How to Change the Font, Font Size, and Font Color in Microsoft Word

Updated December 16, 2022