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: revert;
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.

Examples

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 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.

Formal definition

Initial valuenormal
Applies toall elements. It also applies to ::first-letter and ::first-line.
Inheritedyes
Percentagesrefer to the width of the affected glyph
Computed valuean optimum, minimum, and maximum value, each consisting of either an absolute length, a percentage, or the keyword normal
Animation typea length

Formal syntax

normal | <length>

Specifications

Specification
CSS Text Module Level 3
# word-spacing-property

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser

See also