How to turn off autocorrect on your Mac computer

While autocorrect can be useful on your Mac, it can sometimes be a feature that you'd rather turn off.

You can easily turn off autocorrect on your Mac in a few steps through your System Preferences.
By default autocorrect is enabled on a Mac. Your computer will automatically correct the spelling of words that it identifies as misspelled.
Though autocorrect may help ensure that documents are free of spelling and grammatical errors, it can also make it difficult to type words and proper nouns that the computer doesn't recognize.

For some Mac users, autocorrect is a blessing.

The feature can help correct grammar and spelling errors, comparing words as you type them to an extensive internal dictionary and then automatically replacing perceived errors with what it deems to be the proper spelling. This ensures that documents are free of typos.

For others, autocorrect can be the bane of their existence, unnecessarily changing the spelling of proper names, street addresses, or abbreviations to make the text read incorrectly.

The default setting on a Mac is to have autocorrect enabled, but it's a simple process to disable.

1. Select "System Preferences" from the Applications toolbar. If you're having trouble finding it, press "Command" + the space bar on your keyboard to open up "Spotlight Search" and type "System Preferences" into the search bar.

Type "System Preferences" into the Spotlight Search bar. Kelly Laffey/Business Insider

2. Click "Keyboard."

Select "Keyboard" from the System Preferences menu. Kelly Laffey/Business Insider

3. Click "Text" in the top bar.

4. Deselect "Correct spelling automatically." This will turn off autocorrect.

"Correct spelling automatically" is located in the top-right corner. Deselect the check mark to disable autocorrect. Kelly Laffey/Business Insider

Check spelling and grammar on Mac

In many macOS apps, spelling is checked while you type, and mistakes are automatically corrected. You can turn off these features, and use other options while typing emails, messages, or documents.

Siri: Say something like: “How do you spell [word]?” Learn how to ask Siri.

Use autocorrection

When your spelling is checked, misspelled words are underlined in red, and suggested corrections are shown.

1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Keyboard , then click Text.
2. Select the “Correct spelling automatically” checkbox.
3. In an app, type your content.
4. As misspelled words are detected, do one of the following:Accept suggestions: If there’s only one suggestion, just keep typing to have the word autocorrected. If two or more suggestions are shown, choose one.Ignore suggestions: Press Esc, then continue typing.Undo autocorrections: An automatically corrected word is briefly underlined in blue. To revert to your original spelling, put the insertion point after the word to show your original spelling, then choose your spelling. You can also Control-click the word to show your spelling, then choose it.

To turn off autocorrection for a specific app, open the app, then choose Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Correct Spelling Automatically (it’s off when a checkmark isn’t shown).

If an app’s Edit menu doesn’t include a spelling or grammar command, check its preferences or menus to see if it has its own spell checker.

While typing, you can display a list of suggested words by pressing F5 (you may need to also press the Fn key, depending on your Mac model). If your Mac has a Touch Bar, you can set an option to show typing suggestions in the Touch Bar.

Note: To have the first word of a sentence and proper nouns (such as California or Tim) automatically capitalized as you type, select the “Capitalize words automatically” checkbox in the Text pane of Keyboard preferences.

Check spelling and grammar

In an app on your Mac, do any of the following:

• Check spelling: Choose Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Check Document Now. The first error is highlighted. To show the next error, press Command-Semicolon (;). To see suggested spellings for a word, Control-click it.
• Check grammar: Choose Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Check Grammar With Spelling (a checkmark shows it’s on). Grammar errors are underlined in green. Move the pointer over an underlined word to see a description of the problem.Note: Grammar-checking is not available for every region, country, or language. See the macOS Feature Availability webpage.
• Ignore misspellings: Control-click a word, then choose Ignore Spelling. The word is ignored if it occurs again in the document (it is highlighted in other documents).
• Add words to the spelling dictionary: Control-click a word, then choose Learn Spelling. The word won’t be flagged as misspelled in any document.
• Remove a word from the spelling dictionary: Control-click a word, then choose Unlearn Spelling.

If you’re checking a long document, it may be easier to use the Spelling and Grammar window. Choose Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Show Spelling and Grammar.

Change which languages are spell checked automatically

By default, spelling is checked automatically no matter which language you’re using on your Mac. You can add more languages.

1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Keyboard , then click Text.
2. Do one of the following:Check spelling for one language: Click the Spelling pop-up menu, then choose the language.Check spelling for multiple languages: Click the Spelling pop-up menu, choose Set Up, select each language to check automatically, then click Done.