overflow-wrap

The overflow-wrap CSS property applies to text, setting whether the browser should insert line breaks within an otherwise unbreakable string to prevent text from overflowing its line box.

[!NOTE] The property was originally a nonstandard and unprefixed Microsoft extension called word-wrap, and was implemented by most browsers with the same name. It has since been renamed to overflow-wrap, with word-wrap being an alias.

css

overflow-wrap: normal;

css

overflow-wrap: anywhere;

css

overflow-wrap: break-word;

html

<section class="default-example" id="default-example">
  <div class="example-container">
    Most words are short &amp; don't need to break. But
    <strong class="transition-all" id="example-element"
      >Antidisestablishmentarianism</strong
    >
    is long. The width is set to min-content, with a max-width of 11em.
  </div>
</section>

css

.example-container {
  background-color: rgb(255 0 200 / 0.2);
  border: 3px solid rebeccapurple;
  padding: 0.75em;
  width: min-content;
  max-width: 11em;
  height: 200px;
}

[!NOTE] In contrast to {{cssxref("word-break")}}, overflow-wrap will only create a break if an entire word cannot be placed on its own line without overflowing.

Syntax

css

/* Keyword values */
overflow-wrap: normal;
overflow-wrap: break-word;
overflow-wrap: anywhere;

/* Global values */
overflow-wrap: inherit;
overflow-wrap: initial;
overflow-wrap: revert;
overflow-wrap: revert-layer;
overflow-wrap: unset;

The overflow-wrap property is specified as a single keyword chosen from the list of values below.

Values

normal
- : Lines may only break at normal word break points (such as a space between two words).
anywhere
- : To prevent overflow, an otherwise unbreakable string of characters — like a long word or URL — may be broken at any point if there are no otherwise-acceptable break points in the line. No hyphenation character is inserted at the break point. Soft wrap opportunities introduced by the word break are considered when calculating min-content intrinsic sizes.
break-word
- : The same as the anywhere value, with normally unbreakable words allowed to be broken at arbitrary points if there are no otherwise acceptable break points in the line, but soft wrap opportunities introduced by the word break are NOT considered when calculating min-content intrinsic sizes.

Formal definition

Formal syntax

Examples

Comparing overflow-wrap, word-break, and hyphens

This example compares the results of overflow-wrap, word-break, and hyphens when breaking up a long word.

HTML

html

<p>
  They say the fishing is excellent at Lake
  <em class="normal">Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg</em>, though
  I've never been there myself. (<code>normal</code>)
</p>
<p>
  They say the fishing is excellent at Lake
  <em class="ow-anywhere">Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg</em>,
  though I've never been there myself. (<code>overflow-wrap: anywhere</code>)
</p>
<p>
  They say the fishing is excellent at Lake
  <em class="ow-break-word">Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg</em>,
  though I've never been there myself. (<code>overflow-wrap: break-word</code>)
</p>
<p>
  They say the fishing is excellent at Lake
  <em class="word-break">Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg</em>,
  though I've never been there myself. (<code>word-break</code>)
</p>
<p>
  They say the fishing is excellent at Lake
  <em class="hyphens">Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg</em>, though
  I've never been there myself. (<code>hyphens</code>, without
  <code>lang</code> attribute)
</p>
<p lang="en">
  They say the fishing is excellent at Lake
  <em class="hyphens">Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg</em>, though
  I've never been there myself. (<code>hyphens</code>, English rules)
</p>
<p class="hyphens" lang="de">
  They say the fishing is excellent at Lake
  <em class="hyphens">Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg</em>, though
  I've never been there myself. (<code>hyphens</code>, German rules)
</p>

CSS

css

p {
  width: 13em;
  margin: 2px;
  background: gold;
}

.ow-anywhere {
  overflow-wrap: anywhere;
}

.ow-break-word {
  overflow-wrap: break-word;
}

.word-break {
  word-break: break-all;
}

.hyphens {
  hyphens: auto;
}

Result

{{ EmbedLiveSample('Comparing_overflow-wrap_word-break_and_hyphens', '100%', 260) }}