NBSP stands for non-breaking space: a space character, Unicode U+00A0 (written in HTML), that looks like an ordinary gap but tells software not to break the line at that position. On screen it is usually indistinguishable from a regular space, which is why it goes unnoticed until text refuses to wrap or an exact match fails. You meet it mostly in text copied from web pages, word processors, PDFs, and spreadsheets, where it was inserted to keep a number and its unit, or a short name, together on one line.
What is a non breaking space?
A non-breaking space, usually abbreviated as NBSP, is the Unicode character U+00A0. It normally draws a blank gap between visible characters, much like the regular U+0020 space produced by a spacebar. Its important difference is line behavior: it asks a layout system to keep the surrounding text together instead of using that position as an ordinary wrapping opportunity.
This makes NBSP useful when a break would make text harder to understand. A number and its unit, a short title and name, or parts of a compact label may need to stay on one line. The same behavior becomes a problem when an NBSP is pasted into a form, spreadsheet, text editor, or data field that expects regular spaces. The text may look normal while wrapping, searching, sorting, or exact comparison behaves differently. When the character is unwanted, you can remove non-breaking spaces in your browser, either converting them to regular spaces or deleting them.
Regular space: 25[U+0020]kg
The line may wrap at the space.
Non-breaking space: 25[U+00A0]kg
The number and unit are normally kept together.NBSP, non-breaking space, and other names for U+00A0
These all name the same character, U+00A0: NBSP and nbsp (the usual abbreviation, and the name inside the HTML entity ), non-breaking space, non breaking space, and non breakable space (spelling variants), and no-break space, which is the official Unicode name, NO-BREAK SPACE. In HTML source it is written ,  , or  ; in plain text it is the single character U+00A0.
The narrow no-break space, U+202F, is sometimes called a narrow NBSP, but it is a different character with its own code point. It blocks line breaks in the same way and is narrower, so it is covered separately in the section on related no-break spaces below.
NBSP quick facts
| Fact | NBSP |
|---|---|
| Unicode code point | U+00A0 (decimal 160), named NO-BREAK SPACE, in the Latin-1 Supplement block |
| HTML entity | , or numerically   and   |
| UTF-8 bytes | C2 A0 (two bytes; a regular space is the single byte 20) |
| Difference from a regular space (U+0020) | It looks the same, but a line break is not allowed at an NBSP and HTML does not collapse a run of them into one. A search or trim that looks only for U+0020 does not match it. |
| Appears when copying and pasting? | Often. Web pages, word processors, PDFs, and spreadsheets can all carry U+00A0 along; whether it survives a paste depends on the source and the destination app. |
NBSP is blank, but not zero-width
A non-breaking space is sometimes described as an invisible character because it has no drawn mark of its own. That description can be misleading: U+00A0 normally occupies visible width. It is not the same as a zero width space (U+200B), which creates a potential wrap without drawing a gap, or a word joiner (U+2060), which discourages a break without adding width.
That distinction matters during cleanup. Replacing an NBSP with a regular space preserves a visible separator but changes wrapping behavior. Removing it completely joins the neighboring text. Removing zero-width controls is a different operation with different risks.
Non-breaking space versus regular space
| Property | Regular space | Non-breaking space |
|---|---|---|
| Unicode code point | U+0020 | U+00A0 |
| Typical appearance | Blank horizontal gap | Blank horizontal gap |
| Normal line wrapping | Usually permits a break | Normally keeps surrounding text together |
| HTML notation | A literal space or   | or   |
| Safe default cleanup | Keep or collapse according to the document | Convert to U+0020 when the no-break behavior is unwanted |
Where unexpected NBSP characters come from
- Web pages: HTML authors can use the named character reference
, which representsU+00A0. Copying rendered text usually places the Unicode character on the clipboard rather than the letters in the entity name. - Word processors: editing and typography features may protect short phrases, names, punctuation, or number-unit pairs from splitting across lines.
- PDF extraction: copied text can retain no-break or typographic spacing even when the pasted result no longer needs the original page layout.
- Spreadsheets and imported data: a cell can contain an NBSP that looks like a normal space but prevents an exact match or survives a cleanup rule aimed only at
U+0020. - Templates and rich text: a protected separator can be copied repeatedly into labels, product data, or content-management fields.
Related no-break spaces
Not every protected gap is U+00A0. The narrow no-break space U+202F has similar line-breaking behavior with a narrower displayed width and can be meaningful in language-specific typography. Figure space U+2007 is designed around digit width and keeps numeric material together for line breaking. Treating all three as ordinary spaces can be appropriate for plain-text cleanup, but it can also remove intentional typography or numeric alignment.
The dedicated Remove Non-Breaking Spaces tool audits U+00A0, U+202F, and U+2007 separately before changing them.
How to detect a non breaking space
- Keep an unchanged copy of the original text.
- Paste a small affected sample into the NBSP audit.
- Check the counts for NBSP, narrow no-break space, and figure space.
- Compare the visible text and wrapping before and after conversion.
- Test the result in the destination application, especially when exact matching or numeric formatting matters.
Searching visually for a blank gap is unreliable because several characters can render similarly. A character-specific count is more informative than repeatedly pressing Backspace or running a broad whitespace replacement.
Convert to regular spaces when
- Words still need a visible boundary.
- Text wraps badly after copying from a web page or document.
- A form, search, or comparison expects U+0020.
- Plain-text consistency matters more than typography.
Remove completely when
- A validated identifier must contain no separator.
- The neighboring characters are intended to form one value.
- You have confirmed that no word boundary is needed.
- You can review the joined output against the source.
When you should keep the NBSP
Do not normalize a protected space merely because it is unusual. It may be carrying intentional line-breaking or language-specific typography. Names, units, dates, narrow punctuation spacing, aligned figures, and published layouts deserve review. Source code, localization files, and structured data may also assign meaning to a particular character or delimiter.
When the only problem is unwanted wrapping, conversion to a regular space is usually less destructive than deletion. When the text contains many kinds of spacing and the intended structure is unclear, start with the Unicode whitespace guide.
FAQ
What is NBSP?
NBSP is the non-breaking space, the Unicode character U+00A0. It looks like a normal space but prevents a line break at its position.
What does NBSP mean?
NBSP is short for non-breaking space. The nbsp in the HTML entity is the same abbreviation.
Is NBSP a space?
Yes. Unicode classes it as a space separator (category Zs) and it draws a blank gap, but it is not the ordinary space U+0020, so tools that check only for U+0020 can overlook it.
How do I type NBSP?
In HTML, write or  . In Microsoft Word on Windows, press Ctrl+Shift+Space. In Apple Pages on Mac, press Option+Space. Shortcuts in other applications and keyboard layouts may differ. See the official Word instructions and Pages shortcuts.
How is NBSP different from a normal space?
A normal space (U+0020) allows a line break and HTML collapses a run of them into one, while an NBSP normally keeps the surrounding text on one line and is not collapsed. It also does not match a plain-space search, so exact comparisons can fail on text that looks identical.
Is the same as a non-breaking space?
In HTML, the named character reference represents U+00A0. In rendered or copied text, you usually encounter the Unicode character rather than the entity notation. When the entity is still in the markup rather than in copied text, the HTML spaces guide separates source indentation, entities, and CSS behavior.
Why does normal Find and Replace miss the gap?
A search for a regular U+0020 space does not necessarily match U+00A0, U+202F, or U+2007. Use a character-aware audit or paste the exact character into the search field.
Will removing NBSP delete line breaks?
The dedicated non-breaking space remover changes only the three supported no-break spacing characters. It leaves tabs, ordinary spaces, stored line breaks and zero-width controls unchanged. Before any tool runs, the browser text box normalizes pasted CRLF and CR to LF; keeping break positions does not preserve the original file's line-ending encoding.
Is the old zero width no-break space the same thing?
No. U+FEFF has a historical zero width no-break role and is also used as a byte order mark. Unicode recommends U+2060 WORD JOINER when an invisible character is needed only to prevent a break. Use the zero-width character tool for that category.