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How to extract the first word from a cell in Excel and Google Sheets
Topic:Text manipulationExcel & Google Sheets
=LEFT(A2, FIND(" ", A2 & " ") - 1)✓
Verified example
Computed by a real spreadsheet engine on the sample data below.
| header | header |
| Hello world | data |
| First second third | data |
| Singleword | data |
| Another example here | data |
=LEFT(A2, FIND(" ", A2 & " ") - 1)→Hello
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Sample data — click any cell to edit
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Step by step
- 1Enter your text data into column A starting from cell A2.
- 2In cell B2, enter the formula provided for Excel or Google Sheets.
- 3Copy the formula down to apply it to other cells in column B.
Tips
- Ensure there is at least one space after the first word to avoid errors.
- This formula assumes words are separated by spaces. Adjustments may be needed for different delimiters.
- Check for leading spaces in your data, as they will affect the extraction.
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Frequently asked
What if my text doesn't have any spaces?
If there are no spaces, the formula will return the entire text as the first word.
Can this formula handle punctuation?
No, punctuation attached to the first word will be included. You may need additional functions to clean the text.
Does this work with multiple lines of text?
Yes, but it will only extract the first word from the first line.
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