SymbolHub

Non-Breaking Space

The non-breaking space is Unicode U+00A0, a space character that prevents automatic line breaks and resists whitespace collapsing in web browsers. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard, or type it with Alt + 0160 on Windows.

Unicode
U+00A0
HTML
 
Windows
Alt + 0160

How to type the non-breaking space ( )

The quickest way is to press Copy above and paste. To type   yourself, use the method for your device below. On Windows the alt code is Alt + 0160.

Windows

  1. Hold Alt and type 0160 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt. Num Lock must be on. This uses the Windows-1252 code page, so it works in almost every Windows app.
  2. Hold Alt and type 255 on the numeric keypad. This older code (from code page 437) works in Notepad, Word and most desktop apps.
  3. In Word or Outlook, type 00A0 and press Alt + X. Alt + X converts the hex code before the cursor into the character, and back again.
  4. Press Win + R, type charmap and press Enter. Tick “Advanced view”, search for No-Break Space, then Select and Copy. Character Map is built into every version of Windows.

Mac

  1. Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for no-break space and double-click it.
  2. With the Unicode Hex Input keyboard enabled (System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources), hold Option and type 00A0.

Linux & ChromeOS

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type a0, then press Enter or Space. Works in GTK and IBus apps (GNOME, Firefox, Chrome, LibreOffice) and on ChromeOS.

iPhone & iPad

  1. Copy   from this page, then go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement and add it with a shortcut such as ;non. The shortcut then turns into the symbol as you type, in every app.

Android

  1. Copy   here, then open Gboard settings → Dictionary → Personal dictionary and add it with a shortcut.

Microsoft Word

  1. Type 00A0, then press Alt + X.
  2. Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Set “from” to Unicode (hex), type 00A0 in “Character code” and click Insert.

Google Docs

  1. Insert → Special characters, then search for “no-break space” or draw it in the box.

Excel & Google Sheets

  1. Enter =UNICHAR(160) in a cell. It works in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.

HTML

  1. Write   or   in your HTML.

What does   mean?

The non-breaking space (Unicode name NO-BREAK SPACE, widely known as NBSP or hard space, code point U+00A0) is a primary formatting character that prevents automatic line breaks between adjacent words or symbols. In professional document publishing and typography, allowing a line wrap to orphan a numerical digit from its associated unit (such as splitting "10" and "kg" across two lines), separation of currency signs from amounts, or breaking apart personal titles (such as "Dr. Watson") impairs reader comprehension. Inserting a non-breaking space guarantees that the connected words remain tethered together on the same line as a single cohesive visual unit. It is the most universally utilized member of the Unicode space characters family and closely coordinates with punctuation symbols.

In web development, the non-breaking space serves a second indispensable role: defeating default HTML whitespace collapse. Standard web browsers collapse consecutive regular spaces, tabs, and newline characters into a single space; the non-breaking space (written as the named entity  ) is exempt from collapsing, enabling authors to insert deliberate, consistent horizontal spacing in plain HTML without external CSS rules. French typography strictly mandates non-breaking spaces before high punctuation marks including colons, semicolons, exclamation marks, and inside quotation marks. In contrast to the invisible zero-width space which encourages line breaks, or the extra-wide em space used for paragraph indentation, the non-breaking space maintains standard word spacing while providing absolute control over line integrity.

Common uses

  • Binding quantities to their measurement units: 100 km/h, 25 kg, 5 MB
  • Preventing orphaned numbers in currency, dates, and names: $10 million, July 4, Fig. 2
  • French typographic spacing before colons, question marks, and inside guillemets: « Bonjour ! »
  • Preventing whitespace collapse in HTML tables, navigational breadcrumbs, and preformatted text

Non-Breaking Space codes for HTML, CSS and programming

Every code below produces  . Use the HTML entity in web pages, the CSS escape in content, and the escape sequence in source code.

Unicode code pointU+00A0
HTML entity (named) 
HTML decimal 
HTML hex 
CSS contentcontent: "\A0";
JavaScript"\u00A0"
Python"\u00A0"
Python (by name)"\N{NO-BREAK SPACE}"
Java / C#"\u00A0"
UTF-8 bytesC2 A0
UTF-1600A0
URL encoded%C2%A0
Windows Alt codeAlt + 0160
Alt code (CP437)Alt + 255

  vs look-alike characters

These characters look similar to   but have a different meaning and code. Pasting the wrong one can break search, sorting and screen readers.

CharNameWhen to use it
Space
U+0020		Standard ASCII space (U+0020), which collapses in HTML and allows line breaks.
Narrow No-Break Space
U+202F		Narrow no-break space (U+202F), a thinner non-breaking space used in French typography and SI units.
Figure Space
U+2007		Figure space (U+2007), a non-breaking space exactly equal to the width of numeric digits.
Em Space
U+2003		Em space (U+2003), a wide space equal to the point size of the font.

Symbols similar to  

Click to copy, or open a symbol for its codes. See the full unicode space characters collection.

  character properties

Official Unicode name
NO-BREAK SPACE
Also known as
NBSP, no-break space, hard space, fixed space, non-collapsing space
Code point
U+00A0
Unicode block
Latin-1 Supplement (U+0080–U+00FF)
General category
Space separator (Zs)
Added in
Unicode 1.1 (1993)
Plane
Basic Multilingual Plane (0)
Emoji
No, it is a text symbol

Frequently asked questions

How do I type a non-breaking space on a keyboard?

On macOS, press Option + Space. On Windows, hold Alt and type 0160 on the numeric keypad, or press Ctrl + Shift + Space in Microsoft Word.

Why is   used so frequently in HTML?

In HTML, standard spaces collapse into a single space. Using   prevents multiple spaces from collapsing and prevents the browser from wrapping lines between connected terms.

What happens if a line cannot fit a non-breaking space?

If an unbreakable phrase connected by non-breaking spaces is longer than the entire line width, it will overflow the container or force horizontal scrolling.

What is the alt code for the non-breaking space?

On Windows, hold Alt and type 0160 on the numeric keypad to get  . The shorter code Alt + 255 also works in most desktop apps. On a laptop without a keypad, copy it from this page or use 00A0 then Alt + X in Word.

How do I type the non-breaking space on a Mac?

There is no single Option shortcut for   on the US layout. Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for “no-break space” and double-click it, or copy it from this page.

What is the HTML code for the non-breaking space?

Use the named entity   or the numeric reference   (hex  ). All three display   in every browser.

What is the Unicode for the non-breaking space?

  is U+00A0, officially named NO-BREAK SPACE, in the Latin-1 Supplement block. It has been part of Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).