In such cases, you can add the word you’ve typed to Word’s inbuilt dictionary. For example, when you are using slang or short form, the app won’t detect the spelling accurately. Custom DictionaryĪt times Word app may struggle to identify what you’ve typed. Step 2: Select the proofing language from the pop-up menu and click on Add. If not, click on Add a language and select your desired proofing language to install it. Step 1: Open File > Options > Language and check if your preferred proofing language is installed. At times, proofing language is accidentally set to a foreign language. Add Proofing LanguageĮven if one is writing or editing a document in English, Word must have the correct proofing language selected. Follow the steps in the previous point to enable that before you can disable this. Note that the ‘Hide spelling errors in this document only’ option will be enabled and greyed out if ‘Check spelling as you type’ is disabled. Go back to File > Options > Proofing and towards the bottom, make sure that ‘Hide spelling errors in this document only’ option is unchecked. It may be possible that the document you are editing has been added to the exceptions list, which is why Word is not proofreading it for spelling errors. Step 4: If you are wondering why Word is not spell-checking words in upper case letters, that’s because there is a separate option called ‘Ignore words in UPPERCASE’. Step 3: Under the Proofing tab, make sure ‘Check spelling as you type’ is checked. Step 2: Select Options in the right sidebar towards the bottom of the menu.

The ‘Check spelling as you type’ setting must be checked or enabled for Word to spell check the document in real-time and show the familiar zig-zag red line underneath the misspelled word. A quick solution until you figure out the issue. That will help you spell check the document quickly for errors though. There are some differences between Word Web App and desktop app. Have you subscribed to a Microsoft 365 plan? If so, you can open the same Word document in the web app and check if Word spell checker is working there.įree users of OneDrive can also access Word’s web app.

Mac outlook spell check not working