How to turn off autocorrect in Word on Mac: steps for Microsoft 365 and 2024

What AutoCorrect actually changes in Word

Word's AutoCorrect changes text as you type. It fixes common typos, swaps some symbols, and adjusts capital letters. Most of the time that helps. Sometimes it rewrites a product code, a surname, or a word you typed on purpose.

The setting you turn off in Preferences controls those replacements. It does not control every mark Word draws on the page. Spelling and grammar checks are a separate layer, and so are the corrections your Mac makes in some apps.

Before you start: check your Word version

Microsoft's support page lists Microsoft 365 for Mac, Word 2024 for Mac, and Word 2021 for Mac in its Applies To list. It does not say which builds the steps were tested on. Menu names can also change between releases, and Microsoft says so itself.

The newest Word for Mac build in Microsoft's update history is 16.114.4 (build 26110224), released November 4, 2026. The two builds before it were 16.114.3 on October 27, 2026, and 16.114.2 on October 26, 2026. If your copy is older, update it before you compare menus. Then follow the steps in this guide as written.

The two-layer fix: Word first, then macOS

Most people need both changes. Word's AutoCorrect rewrites text as you type. macOS has its own spelling correction, and that setting lives in System Settings, not inside Word. If you only change Word, some corrections can still appear.

Do Word first because it is the quicker change. Then check a test line in a blank document. If something still changes, the macOS switches are the next place to look. Note which change made the difference, so you can undo one without the other.

Why the red and blue underlines stay

Turning off AutoCorrect does not stop the underlines. Word also marks possible spelling and grammar errors as you type. A Microsoft Tech Community reply says you can stop that marking separately, using Microsoft's Check grammar, spelling, and more in Word article.

Decide what you want before you change anything. If you want no rewriting but still want to see errors, change only the AutoCorrect box. If you want a clean page with no marks, you need the marking setting as well.

Turn off the macOS setting too

Apple's guide shows the path as System Settings > Keyboard > Text Input > Edit. Two switches there matter for this job. Correct spelling automatically fixes words as you type. Capitalize words automatically changes the case of words you type.

Switch off both, then click Done. These switches reach beyond Word. You may notice that other apps on the Mac stop making the same changes. Check that before you rely on a clean result in a shared document.

Older macOS versions use different menus

The Apple steps in this guide describe macOS 27 Golden Gate. Older releases used System Preferences, and the panes may sit in different places. This guide did not verify those older menus. Search for Correct spelling automatically in the settings window you have.

Word for the web uses a different path

If you open Word in a browser, the route is different. Go to the Review tab, select the arrow below Editor, choose AutoCorrect Options, then clear Replace text as you type. Microsoft says the web version has a more limited set of AutoCorrect Options than the desktop app.

Check both places if you switch between the Mac app and the browser on the same file. The steps are separate, so check each place on its own rather than assuming one change covers both.

What you lose when AutoCorrect is off

AutoCorrect is not all bad. It catches the typos most people make, and it saves time when you type fast. Turning it off means you take on that proofreading yourself. The trade is worth it for some people and a mistake for others.

The cost shows up in names, codes, and terms. A product code, a surname, or a brand with an odd capital can get rewritten while you type. Turn the setting off, then retype three or four of those items to see what sticks.

• Keep it on if you write fast and rely on typo fixes for most of your text.
• Keep it on if most of your work is ordinary prose with few special terms.
• Turn it off if you write code, part numbers, or names that keep getting changed.
• Turn it off if you want full control of capitals and symbols in a formal document.

Why the setting does not stay off

Some people turn the box off, restart Word, and find it back on. Microsoft's Q&A has a thread about this exact problem with Mac preferences. A community moderator's fix from October 2023 is to close the Office apps, move Normal.dotm and com.microsoft.Word.plist to the Desktop, then restart the Mac.

That fix comes from a community moderator, not Microsoft's official guidance, and the thread is locked with no accepted answer. Back up both files before you move them. Normal.dotm is your default template, so custom styles and macros in it may disappear until you put the file back.

Is there a keyboard shortcut?

Microsoft's support page documents no keyboard shortcut for this change. A 2019-era Microsoft Q&A answer says you can assign one to the ToolsAutoCorrect command in the Customize Keyboard dialog. The same answer says you can add AutoCorrect to the Quick Access Toolbar instead.

That answer also notes that the AutoCorrect dialog is modal, so you must close it before you return to the document. Nobody has confirmed that the ToolsAutoCorrect route still works in current Word for Mac. Test it on a blank document before you depend on it.

How common autocorrect mistakes are

An older survey sheds a little light on how often people send errors. It asked 1,015 people on Amazon Mechanical Turk, split into 507 texting-only and 508 email-only participants. Of the texting group, 83.7% said they had sent a message with an autocorrect mistake at least once.

About 22% of that group did so several times a week, and close to 8% did so several times a day. In the email group, 72.6% said they had sent an email with an obvious grammar or spelling mistake at least once. Also, 27% of people sending work email said they had to pretend an autocorrect mistake did not happen.

Use these numbers as rough signals only. The sample was self-selected online workers, the study year is not stated, and the sources it cites date to 2018. They describe a pattern, not how often your office makes mistakes. Your own proofreading habit matters more.

Mistakes people make when they turn it off

• Clearing the wrong box. Replace text as you type controls AutoCorrect. Spelling and grammar marks are controlled elsewhere.
• Changing Word and assuming macOS is off. Check the System Settings switches too, or some changes will keep coming.
• Testing in a real file. Use a blank document so a test does not leave stray text behind.
• Moving Normal.dotm without a backup. Copy both files somewhere safe before you move anything.
• Assuming the web version has the same options. Microsoft says it has fewer AutoCorrect options.
• Expecting a shortcut. None is documented, so plan on the menu path.

A quick test to confirm the change

Open a blank document and type three short lines. The first line holds a typo, such as teh, followed by a space. The second holds a symbol shortcut, such as (c), followed by a space. The third holds a word with an unusual capital, such as macOS, followed by a space.

1. Open a blank document in Word.
2. Type teh and a space, then check the word.
3. Type (c) and a space, then check the symbol.
4. Type macOS and a space, then check the capitals.

If the typo and symbol stay as you typed them, Word's setting is off. If the capitals stay as you typed them, the macOS capital setting is also off. Any change you still see means one layer is still on, so go back to that layer and check its switch.

What to do if you share the file

If you share the file with a reviewer, turn on Track Changes so their edits show. Turning off AutoCorrect in your copy does not change theirs. Each copy of Word keeps its own preferences.