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word-spacing

The word-spacing CSS property sets the length of space between words and between tags.

Syntax

/* Keyword value */
word-spacing: normal;

/* <length> values */
word-spacing: 3px;
word-spacing: 0.3em;

/* <percentage> values */
word-spacing: 50%;
word-spacing: 200%;

/* Global values */
word-spacing: inherit;
word-spacing: initial;
word-spacing: unset;

Values

normal
The normal inter-word spacing, as defined by the current font and/or the browser.
<length>
Specifies extra spacing in addition to the intrinsic inter-word spacing defined by the font.
<percentage>
Specifies extra spacing as a percentage of the affected character’s advance width.

Formal syntax

normal | <length-percentage>

where
<length-percentage> = <length> | <percentage>

Example

HTML

<div id="mozdiv1">Here are many words...</div>
<div id="mozdiv2">...and many more!</div>

CSS

#mozdiv1 {
  word-spacing: 15px;
}

#mozdiv2 {
  word-spacing: 5em;
} 

Accessibility concerns

A large positive or negative word-spacing value will make the sentences the styling is applied to unreadable. For text styled with a very large positive value, the words will be so far apart that it will no longer appear to be a sentence. For text styled with a large negative value, the words will overlap each other to the point where the the beginning and end of each word is unrecognizable.

Legible word-spacing must be determined on a case-by-case basis, as different font families have different character widths. There is no one value that can ensure all font families automatically maintain their legibility.

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
CSS Text Module Level 3
The definition of 'word-spacing' in that specification.
Working Draft Replaces the previous values with a <spacing-limit> value that defines the same thing, plus the <percentage> value. Allows up to three values describing the optimum, minimum, and maximum value.
CSS Transitions
The definition of 'word-spacing' in that specification.
Working Draft Defines word-spacing as animatable.
CSS Level 2 (Revision 1)
The definition of 'word-spacing' in that specification.
Recommendation No change.
CSS Level 1
The definition of 'word-spacing' in that specification.
Recommendation Initial definition.
Initial value normal
Applies to all elements. It also applies to ::first-letter and ::first-line.
Inherited yes
Percentages refer to the width of the affected glyph
Media visual
Computed value an optimum, minimum, and maximum value, each consisting of either an absolute length, a percentage, or the keyword normal
Animation type a length
Canonical order the unique non-ambiguous order defined by the formal grammar

Browser compatibilityUpdate compatibility data on GitHub

Desktop
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari
Basic support 1 12 1 6 3.5 1
<percentage> values No ? 45 No No ?
Mobile
Android webview Chrome for Android Edge Mobile Firefox for Android Opera for Android iOS Safari Samsung Internet
Basic support ? ? Yes No ? ? ?
<percentage> values ? ? ? 45 ? ? No

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Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/word-spacing