Select one word to the left

Select word-by-word on Windows

Hold Ctrl+Shift and tap ← to grab the word to the left of the cursor; each press extends the highlight by one more word. Release and type to replace the whole selection.

Select word-by-word on Mac

macOS swaps Ctrl for Option: ⌥⇧← selects the previous word. To select to the very start of the line instead, use ⌘⇧← — see the full select to beginning of line shortcut for the Windows equivalent.

Why select by word

Selecting by word is the precise way to replace a term, delete a phrase, or apply formatting without dragging the mouse. It behaves identically in Word, Docs, browsers and most editors.