white-space

The white-space CSS property determines how whitespace inside an element is handled. To make words break within themselves, use overflow-wrap, word-break, or hyphens instead.

/* Keyword values */
white-space: normal;
white-space: nowrap;
white-space: pre;
white-space: pre-wrap;
white-space: pre-line;
/* Global values */
white-space: inherit;
white-space: initial;
white-space: unset;

Syntax

The white-space property is specified as a single keyword chosen from the list of values below.

Values

normal

Sequences of whitespace are collapsed. Newline characters in the source are handled the same as other whitespace. Lines are broken as necessary to fill line boxes.

nowrap

Collapses whitespace as for normal, but suppresses line breaks (text wrapping) within the source.

pre

Sequences of whitespace are preserved. Lines are only broken at newline characters in the source and at <br> elements.

pre-wrap

Sequences of whitespace are preserved. Lines are broken at newline characters, at <br>, and as necessary to fill line boxes.

pre-line

Sequences of whitespace are collapsed. Lines are broken at newline characters, at <br>, and as necessary to fill line boxes.

The following table summarizes the behavior of the various white-space values:

Formal syntax

normal | pre | nowrap | pre-wrap | pre-line

Examples

Basic example

code { 
  white-space: pre; 
}

Line breaks inside <pre> elements

pre {
  word-wrap: break-word;      /* IE 5.5-7 */
  white-space: -moz-pre-wrap; /* Firefox 1.0-2.0 */
  white-space: pre-wrap;      /* Modern browsers */
}

See it in action

    <div id="css-code" class="box">
     p { white-space: <select>
       <option>normal</option>
       <option>nowrap</option>
       <option>pre</option>
       <option>pre-wrap</option>
       <option>pre-line</option>
     </select> }
    </div>
    <div id="results" class="box">
    <p>    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
    
    Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
    
    Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
    
    Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.</p>
    </div>

.box {
  width: 300px;
  padding: 16px;
  border-radius: 10px;
}
#css-code {
  background-color: rgb(220,220,220);
  font-size: 16px;
}
#results {
  background-color: rgb(230,230,230);
  overflow-x: scroll;
  height: 400px;
  white-space: normal;
  font-size: 14px;
}

var select  = document.querySelector("#css-code select");
var results = document.querySelector("#results p");
select.addEventListener("change", function(e) {
  results.setAttribute("style", "white-space: "+e.target.value);
})

Source

    <p>    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
    
    Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
    
    Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.
    
    Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.</p>

CSS + Result

Specifications

Browser compatibility

[1] Internet Explorer 5.5+ supports word-wrap: break-word;.

See also

• Properties that define how words break within themselves: overflow-wrap, word-break, hyphens