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How to get the last word in a cell in Excel and Google Sheets
Topic:Text manipulationExcel & Google Sheets
=TRIM(RIGHT(SUBSTITUTE(A2," ",REPT(" ",100)),100))✓
Verified example
Computed by a real spreadsheet engine on the sample data below.
| Phrase |
| Hello world |
| One two three |
| Quick brown fox |
| Spreadsheet formulas |
=TRIM(RIGHT(SUBSTITUTE(A2," ",REPT(" ",100)),100))→world
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Step by step
- 1SUBSTITUTE(A2," ",REPT(" ",100)) replaces every space with 100 spaces, ensuring the last word occupies the final 100 characters.
- 2RIGHT(...,100) takes the last 100 characters of that expanded string.
- 3TRIM() removes all leading and trailing spaces, leaving only the last word.
- 4The combined formula is: =TRIM(RIGHT(SUBSTITUTE(A2," ",REPT(" ",100)),100)).
- 5If you need a pure-formula version based on LEN and FIND: =RIGHT(TRIM(A2),LEN(TRIM(A2))-FIND("*",SUBSTITUTE(TRIM(A2)," ","*",LEN(TRIM(A2))-LEN(SUBSTITUTE(TRIM(A2)," ",""))))).
Tips
- In Google Sheets you can use =INDEX(SPLIT(A2," "),1,COUNTA(SPLIT(A2," "))) to split and pick the last element — often more readable.
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Frequently asked
What if the cell has only one word?
The formula returns the entire cell value, which is correct — a single word is also the last word.
What if there are trailing spaces?
Wrap A2 in TRIM() before applying SUBSTITUTE to remove trailing spaces first: =TRIM(RIGHT(SUBSTITUTE(TRIM(A2)," ",REPT(" ",100)),100)).
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