How to Keep Words Together on the Same Line in Microsoft Word Using Non-Breaking Spaces

When typing formal legal agreements, academic dissertations, or executive financial summaries in Microsoft Word, standard text wrapping can create visually awkward line breaks. Figures separated from their units (such as “10” at the end of a line and “kg” on the next), split monetary amounts (“$500” and “million”), or severed honorific titles (“Dr.” and “Watson”) disrupt readability and look unprofessional.

Pressing the Enter key or inserting manual line breaks is a poor workaround because future edits or font adjustments will shift your text and cause unwanted jagged gaps. Instead, Microsoft Word features a dedicated typographical tool known as a “Non-Breaking Space”.

Method 1: Insert a Non-Breaking Space via Keyboard Shortcut

The fastest and most efficient way to glue two words or a number and its unit together is with Word’s global keyboard combination:

1. Delete the standard space currently separating the two words you wish to keep joined together.
2. Press the keyboard shortcut:

Ctrl + Shift + Space

On a Mac, press Option + Space (or Command + Shift + Space).

The non-breaking space looks identical to a normal space in print and digital exports, but Word treats the adjacent characters as an indivisible unit. If the text approaches the right margin, Word moves both words together to the next line rather than splitting them.

Method 2: Reveal Non-Breaking Spaces to Verify Formatting

To distinguish non-breaking spaces from regular spaces in your draft:

1. On the Home tab of the Word ribbon, click the Show/Hide ¶ icon in the Paragraph section (or press Ctrl + *).
2. Look at the space between your words:

• Normal Space: Represented by a small centred dot (·).
• Non-Breaking Space: Represented by a small open degree symbol (°).

Method 3: Insert Non-Breaking Spaces via the Symbols Menu

If you prefer a mouse-driven interface:

1. Place your blinking cursor between the two words.
2. Navigate to the Insert tab on the ribbon.
3. On the far right, click Symbol > More Symbols…
4. Click the Special Characters tab at the top of the dialogue box.
5. Select Nonbreaking Space from the list and click Insert.

Method 4: Combine Words Using Non-Breaking Hyphens

Similarly, hyphenated terms (such as phone numbers like 555-0199, ISBNs, or compound words like high-resolution) often break awkwardly across margins. To prevent hyphenated phrases from splitting:

Ctrl + Shift + Hyphen (-)

This inserts a non-breaking hyphen that guarantees compound terms, product codes, and chemical notations stay permanently unified on a single line.