Strikethrough is a font effect that causes text to appear as though it is crossed out. For example, this text should have a line through the middle of it. The strikethrough effect may be enabled through font properties if a program supports it, or applied to text on a web page using the HTML or CSS. Both methods are demonstrated in the following sections.

Strikethrough is often used to indicate text that is no longer valid in a document or on a web page. Search engine results may also show strikethrough on text that’s no longer valid or is from an old version of the page.

Double strikethrough is a variation of strikethrough, where text has two lines through it instead of one line. The use of double strikethrough is much less common than strikethrough, but may be used in professional or legal documents to indicate changes in wording. The initials of the person making the wording change may also accompany the double strikethrough.

How do I enable strikethrough in Microsoft Word?

Microsoft Word 2007 and later

  • Open Microsoft Word, then open a document.
  • Highlight the text you want to strikethrough.
  • In the Ribbon at the top, make sure the Home tab is selected. In Word 2007, make sure the Write tab is selected.
  • In the Font section, click the Strikethrough icon.

Microsoft Word 2003 and earlier

  • Open Microsoft Word, then open a document.
  • Highlight the text you want to strikethrough.
  • Click Format, then Font.
  • In the Font property window, check the Strikethrough option.

How to disable strikethrough

To disable strikethrough, follow the same steps above used to enable strikethrough.

How to strikethrough text in Microsoft Excel

In Microsoft Excel, press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+5 to strikethrough text in a cell.

How do I create a strikethrough on my website?

To strikethrough text on a web page, wrap it in opening and closing or tags, or the following CSS code:

.strikeit { text-decoration: line-through; }

Once you’ve added this CSS code to the head of your web page, apply it to a section of text using the “strikeit” class.

Font, Typography terms