When to use an em dash
An em dash marks a break that a comma is too weak for and parentheses are too quiet for:
- An interruption or aside: “The results—if you can call them that—arrived late.”
- Emphasis at the end of a sentence: “She had one goal for the summer—finish the novel.”
- A list in the middle of a sentence: “Three states—Ohio, Iowa, and Utah—reported delays.”
- Speech that breaks off: “I was going to tell you, but—”
Spacing depends on the style guide. The Chicago Manual of Style closes it up: word—word. AP style puts a space on each side: word — word. That is why newspapers and books often look different. Pick one style and stay consistent.
Use em dashes sparingly. One pair per sentence is the practical limit; more than that and readers lose track of which aside is which.
Em dash vs. en dash vs. hyphen
| Mark | Name | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| — | em dash | breaks and asides |
| – | en dash | ranges and scores: 9–5, pages 10–24 |
| - | hyphen | compound words: well-known, 555-0123 |
| − | minus sign | math: −4 °F |
The names come from width: an em dash was traditionally as wide as the font’s em (roughly a capital M), an en dash half that. The horizontal bar ― looks similar, but it introduces quoted dialogue in some other languages and has no job in American English.
Chicago also uses a two-em dash (⸺) for missing letters, as in “Mr. S⸺,” and a three-em dash (⸻) to stand in for a repeated author name in a bibliography.
Typing an em dash in Word, on phones and in code
- Microsoft Word: type two hyphens between two words with no spaces (
word--word) and AutoFormat turns them into an em dash as you keep typing. Ctrl+Alt+Minus on the numeric keypad also works. - iPhone and iPad: press and hold the hyphen key on the numbers keyboard, then slide to the longest dash. With Smart Punctuation on, two hyphens become a dash automatically.
- Android (Gboard): long-press the hyphen on the symbols keyboard.
- LaTeX: three hyphens,
---, produce an em dash. - Markdown and HTML: paste the character directly. Many Markdown tools with smart typography also convert
---.
Frequently asked questions
How do I type an em dash on Windows?
Hold Alt and type 0151 on the numeric keypad. In Word, Ctrl+Alt+Minus on the keypad also works. Without a keypad, copy it from this page or press Windows key + period and look under Symbols.
How do I type an em dash on a Mac?
Press Option+Shift+Hyphen. Option+Hyphen alone gives the shorter en dash.
Should there be spaces around an em dash?
In Chicago style, no: word—word. In AP style, yes: word — word. Both are correct within their own style guide; just be consistent.
Is a double hyphen the same as an em dash?
No. Two hyphens (--) are a typewriter-era stand-in. Use the real em dash in anything you publish.
Unicode data: Unicode Character Database 18.0.0 (unicode.org).