How to Strikethrough on Google Docs

Learn how to strikethrough on Google Docs using a keyboard shortcut or the Format menu. This guide covers applying, removing, and using strikethrough effectively in your documents.

Strikethrough is one of those formatting options that does not have its own button in the Google Docs toolbar, which makes it easy to miss. If you need to cross out text in Google Docs, whether to show deleted content, mark completed tasks, or track changes in a document, applying strikethrough takes about two seconds once you know where to find it. This guide covers the keyboard shortcut, the menu route, and a few practical uses for the formatting.

How to Apply Strikethrough in Google Docs

There are two ways to apply strikethrough in Google Docs. Both work on desktop in a browser and in the Google Docs desktop app.

Method 1: Keyboard Shortcut (Fastest)

Select the text you want to strikethrough by clicking and dragging over it.
Press Alt + Shift + 5 on Windows or Command + Shift + X on Mac.

The strikethrough formatting applies instantly. This shortcut works the same way as bold (Ctrl + B) or italic (Ctrl + I), so once you use it a couple of times it becomes second nature.

Method 2: Format Menu

Select the text you want to cross out.
Click Format in the top menu bar.
Hover over Text.
Click Strikethrough from the submenu.

The menu route takes a few more clicks but is useful if you forget the shortcut or are showing someone else how to do it.

How to Remove Strikethrough in Google Docs

Removing strikethrough works the same way as applying it. Select the text with the strikethrough formatting and press the keyboard shortcut again, or go back through Format > Text > Strikethrough.

The formatting toggles on and off, so the same action that applies it also removes it.

How to Strikethrough on Google Docs Mobile

The mobile app for Google Docs handles strikethrough slightly differently since there is no physical keyboard shortcut.

On iPhone and Android:

Select the text you want to format by tapping and holding until the selection handles appear.
Tap the Format icon in the toolbar (it looks like the letter A with lines beside it).
Tap Text if you are not already on that tab.
Tap Strikethrough (it shows as an S with a line through it).

The formatting applies to your selected text. Tap it again to remove it.

Practical Uses for Strikethrough in Google Docs

Strikethrough is more useful than it gets credit for. Here are the most common situations where it genuinely helps:

Showing deleted content in a draft. Instead of removing text entirely, striking it through shows collaborators what was removed and why. This is useful in legal documents, contracts, and academic writing where changes need to be visible.
To-do lists and task tracking. Crossing out completed items in a checklist is satisfying and keeps the full list visible for reference.
Version tracking without comments. If you are revising a document solo, striking through old text and writing the replacement next to it lets you see the before and after without opening the comments panel.
Indicating outdated information. In reference documents, striking through superseded content while leaving it visible shows readers what changed without deleting context.

Strikethrough vs. Suggesting Mode

If you are collaborating on a Google Doc, the built-in Suggesting mode (accessed through the pencil icon dropdown in the top right) automatically tracks deletions with strikethrough formatting visible to all collaborators. This is the better tool for formal collaboration since it keeps a clean record of who changed what and allows others to accept or reject changes.

For informal use or solo work, applying strikethrough manually gives you the same visual result with more control over when and how it appears.

The Short Answer

To strikethrough on Google Docs, select your text and press Alt + Shift + 5 on Windows or Command + Shift + X on Mac. Or go to Format > Text > Strikethrough. On mobile, use the Format icon in the toolbar and tap Strikethrough under the Text tab. The same action removes it. It is a simple toggle that takes less than a second once you know the shortcut.