The mathematical meaning of infinity is a number larger than any countable number. The simple example is that any number divided by zero will result in infinity. For example, 5/0=∞. However, it is difficult to type this simple equation in documents as infinity symbol does not have a dedicated key. If you need to frequently type infinity symbol, here are the keyboard shortcuts and other ways to use.
Keyboard Shortcuts Summary for Infinity Symbol
Here is the summary of shortcuts for infinity symbol. The symbol has a Unicode point U+221E which you can use in different formats to insert on various applications.
| Symbol Name | Infinity (∞) |
| Alt Code Shortcut | Alt + 8734 |
| Alt + X (Word Document) | 221E Alt + X |
| Mac Shortcut | Option + 5 Option + 221E |
| HTML Entity Decimal | ∞ |
| HTML Entity Hexadecimal | ∞ |
| HTML Entity Name | ∞ |
| CSS Value | \221E; |
| JS Escape Sequence | \u221E |
| Decimal | 8734 |
| Hexadecimal | 221E |
| Unicode | U+221E |
Keyboard Shortcuts to Type Infinity Symbol in Windows
There are multiple ways in Windows to type infinity symbol.
Alt Code Keyboard Shortcuts for Infinity Symbol
Using alt code shortcuts is the easiest way to insert infinity symbol in any Windows application.
- Turn on number lock on your keyboard.
- Hold one of the alt keys available right or left side of the spacebar.
- Type 8734 using the number pad on your keyboard.
- This will make the infinity symbol ∞.
However, this method needs a keyboard with separate number pad. If you are using a compact laptop without separate number pad, check out this article on whether your keyboard supports alt code.
Alt + X Shortcut for Microsoft Word
In the above method, we use decimal code along with alt keys in keyboard. Alternatively, you can also use hexadecimal value with alt code. But this method will work only in Microsoft Word documents. Type the hexadecimal value 221E and then press alt + x keys together to make infinity symbol.
Using Symbol Utility in Office Documents
Do not worry, if keyboard shortcuts do not help you. There are many other alternate options available for typing symbols in Windows computer. Follow the below instructions on any Office documents like Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
- Go to “Insert > Symbols > Symbol > More Symbols” menu.
- On the Symbol utility that opens up, select “Mathematical Operators” as a subset value.
- Find infinity symbol and click on “Insert” button to add the symbol in your document.
Using Equation Editor in Office Documents
Sometimes, you may be frequently using equations involving mathematical operator like infinity, pi, division and other symbols. In this case, you can use the equation editor instead of keyboard shortcuts.
- Open Excel, Word or any other Office application.
- Go to “Insert > Symbols > Equation” menu item.
- This will open equation editor and you can find infinity symbol under basic math operators.
- You can also find predefined equations and formulas that you can insert directly by selecting.
The only problem with equation editor is that you have to manually adjust the inserted equations to align them with other text content. Especially, printing equations will be difficult as they are not regular text and align inappropriately.
Character Map to Copy Infinity Symbol
Similar to Symbol utility in Office documents, you can use Character Map app to copy infinity symbol. The advantage here is that you can use the app independently to insert the symbol anywhere you need.
- Press “Control + R” keys to open Run prompt.
- Type charmap and press enter key, this will open Character Map app.
- Select “Unicode Subrange” option against “Group by” dropdown.
- On the pop-up, select “Mathematical Operators”.
- Find infinity symbol and click on it to select.
- Click on “Select” button and then “Copy” to copy the symbol into your clipboard.
- After that you can paste the symbol wherever you need.
Using Emoji Panel in Windows
Unicode has an official emoji for infinity symbol. You can use the emoji panel (in Windows 10 or later) to insert this emoji in your documents. However, this emoji will be displayed inside a box in Windows computers making it useless for mathematical purposes. Fortunately, you can use the same emoji panel to insert the mathematical infinity symbol also.
- Press “Win + Dot” keys to open emoji panel.
- Type “infinity” to find the emoji symbol.
- Go to “Symbols > Math symbols” section and scroll down.
- Find mathematical infinity symbol and insert in your document.
Keyboard Shortcuts to Type Infinity Symbol in Mac
There are two ways you can type infinity symbol in macOS.
Using Option Key Shortcut
Option key in macOS is the equivalent of alt key in Windows OS. You can press “Option + 5” in Mac to insert infinity symbol. If that does not work, you can use hexadecimal codepoint 221E with option key in macOS.
- First change the input method to Unicode Hex Input.
- Hold one of the option keys in your keyboard.
- Type 221E to make infinity symbol ∞.
Using Character Viewer to Insert Infinity Symbol
Similar to Character Map in Windows, you can use Character Viewer app independently to insert any symbols in Mac.
- When you are in any application, press “Command + Control + Space” keys.
- Alternatively, go to “Edit > Emojis & Symbols” menu to open Character Viewer app.
- Type infinity in the search box to filter the symbol.
- Double click on the symbol to insert in your document.
Infinity Symbol in HTML and CSS
Use one of the followings code formats in your HTML document to insert infinity symbol.
<p>∞</p>
<p>∞</p>
<p>∞</p>On CSS, you can use the following code using Unicode hexadecimal value of the symbol.
li:before {
content:\221E;
font-family:Arial;
}Other Infinity Symbols
Unicode also has few other infinity symbols that you can type with the following keyboard shortcuts.
| Infinity Symbol | Name | Windows Shortcut | Mac Shortcut |
|---|---|---|---|
| ♾ | Infinity Emoji | Alt + 9854 | Option + 267E |
| ⧜ | Incomplete Infinity | Alt + 10716 | Option + 29DC |
| ⧝ | Tie Over Infinity | Alt + 10717 | Option + 29DD |
| ⧞ | Infinity Negated with Vertical Bar | Alt + 10718 | Option + 29DE |
Symbol Variations
You can customize the appearance of infinity symbol like any other text content. It is also possible to apply text effects to highlight the symbol from regular text.
On Mac, you can choose the font variation directly from Character Viewer app without the need of manually applying text effects.
Infinity Emoji
As mentioned above, infinity emoji symbol has a hexadecimal code 267E. Though the name is same as mathematical infinity, the display of this emoji is different on different applications as shown below.
| Platform | Display |
|---|---|
| Windows |  |
| Apple |  |
 | |
 | |
 |
Insert Infinity Emoji in Android and iPhone
Since there is an emoji for infinity symbol, you can easily insert it in Android or iOS smartphone. Remember in Android, you may need a keyboard extension app like Gboard to add emoji support.
- Tap the emoji icon in your keyboard to switch the keyboard to emoji layout.
- Type “infinity” in the search box to filter relevant symbol.
- Tap on the symbol to insert in the text box.
- Instead of searching, you can go to “Symbols” emoji category and then find infinity emoji.
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