SYMBOL
± plus-minus
Unicode information
plus-minusPLUS-MINUS SIGNU+00B1±±\00b1\u00B1Math17.0Meaning of ± plus-minus
The ± sign means “plus or minus”. In mathematics and science it can indicate both the positive and negative value or express a tolerance or uncertainty.
Common uses
- Results with two possible signs.
- Tolerances and error margins.
- Scientific and technical measurements.
How to type ± on Windows, Mac and mobile
Windows
The universal method is to use Copy on this page and paste ±. On Windows 10/11 you can press Win + . and browse the Symbols section, or open Character Map (charmap) to locate characters supported by your fonts. In many Windows apps with a numeric keypad, Alt + 0177 also works.
Mac
Press Control + Command + Space to open Character Viewer, search for plus-minus, then double-click it to insert the character.
Microsoft Word
Type 00B1 without U+, then immediately press Alt + X. Word converts the code into ±. You can also use Insert → Symbol.
Google Docs
Open Insert → Special characters and search by name, or paste ± directly. For emoji, you can also use your operating system emoji picker.
iPhone / iPad
iOS does not provide a direct Unicode-code entry method for every symbol. Copy ± from SymbolDex or check long-press variants on related keys. For frequent use, create a shortcut under Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement.
Android
Availability varies by Android keyboard. In Gboard, browse the symbols panel and long-press related keys for variants. If it is not available, copy ± from SymbolDex and paste it where needed.
Linux
In many Linux apps using GTK/IBus, press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 00b1, then confirm with Enter or Space. If your app does not support this method, copy and paste ±.
Web and programming codes
Copy the representation you need for HTML, CSS, JavaScript or Python. For emoji sequences, SymbolDex includes every code point in the correct order.
±±\00b1\u00B1\u00B1±Usage examples
x = ±520 ± 0.5 mm±2%