Tick Symbol ✓: Copy, Meaning and How to Type It

What Does the Tick Mark Symbol Mean?

The tick mark symbol is one of the most understood signs in the world. It almost always says something positive. Here is where you will see it most:

• Exam papers and homework: a teacher writes ✓ next to a correct answer. This is why it is also called the correct symbol or right mark symbol.
• Forms: you tick ☑ the box that applies to you, for example "Married ☑" or "I agree to the terms ☑".
• To-do lists: "Pay electricity bill ✓" means the job is done.
• Product features: a shop page may list "Free delivery ✔" and "Cash on delivery ✔".
• Chat and status: ✅ is used as a quick "OK, done" reply.

One small surprise: in a few countries a tick on a test can mean a wrong answer, and a circle means right. In India, the UK and the US, though, the tick means right or yes.

Tick Symbol Names: Tick, Check Mark Symbol, Right Sign

The same idea has many names. They all point to the same family of characters, so you can use whichever word you know.

Note that "right symbol" can sometimes mean a right arrow (→) instead of a tick. If that is what you need, see the right arrow symbol page.

Which Tick Should You Use? ✓ vs ✔ vs ☑ vs ✅

Every check symbol here is a real text character, not a picture, so each one pastes into Word, Excel, chats and websites. They differ in weight and colour:

• ✓ Check Mark (U+2713): thin and neat. Best for printed lists, notes and documents.
• ✔ Heavy Check Mark (U+2714): thicker, easier to see at small sizes. Good for feature lists and slides.
• ☑ Ballot Box With Check (U+2611): a tick inside a square. Use it for a filled checklist or a form you are typing.
• ✅ White Heavy Check Mark (U+2705): shows as a green square with a white tick on most phones. It is an emoji, so its look depends on the device.
• ✔️ is the heavy tick with an extra hidden code that asks phones to show it in emoji style.
• 🗸 Light Check Mark is a thinner style that some older fonts do not have.

For a professional document, ✓ or ✔ is safest because it prints in black like normal text. Save ✅ for chats and social posts.

How to Type the Tick Symbol on Any Device

None of the tick characters has a standard Windows Alt code or Mac Option key shortcut. These methods work instead:

• Microsoft Word (Windows): type 2713 and press Alt+X. The number turns into ✓. Use 2714 for ✔ and 2611 for ☑.
• Excel: type =UNICHAR(10003) in a cell (Excel 2013 and newer).
• Windows anywhere: press the Windows key + . to open the emoji panel, then search "check".
• Mac: press Control+Command+Space to open Character Viewer and search "check mark".
• Android phone: most keyboards do not have a plain ✓ key, so open the emoji panel and search "check" or "tick" to get ✅ or ✔️.
• iPhone: open emoji and search "check". For the plain ✓, copy it from this page once and save it as a Text Replacement (Settings, General, Keyboard).

Need Wingdings tricks, PowerPoint steps or Google Sheets checkboxes? Our full guide on the tick symbol in Word and Excel covers every method step by step.

Tick and Cross Symbol: Using Them Together

A tick is often paired with a cross to show yes and no, or right and wrong. This is common in comparison tables, answer keys and "do and don't" lists.

Keep the pair matching in weight: use ✓ with ✗, or ✔ with ✘. Mixing a thin tick with a heavy cross looks untidy. You can copy all the X marks from the cross symbol page.

Look-Alikes: Square Root, Backtick, Blue Tick and More

Some characters look like a tick but are something else. Using the wrong one can confuse search, screen readers and spreadsheets.

• √ Square root (U+221A): people often type it as a tick because it has an Alt code (Alt+251) and on Mac Option+V. It works visually in a pinch, but it is a maths sign. See the square root symbol page for its real use.
• Backtick symbol ( ` ): the key to the left of 1 on most keyboards. Its name has "tick" in it, but it is a grave accent used in coding and markdown, not a check mark.
• Blue tick symbol: the verified badge on social media profiles is an image added by the platform. It is not a text character, so it cannot be copied or typed. In some chat apps, two blue ticks mean your message was read; that too is part of the app, not a symbol you can paste.
• Ticker symbol: a short code for a company on the stock market. It has nothing to do with the tick mark.

Right Symbol PNG and Text: Which Format to Use

The copy box gives you the tick as text. Text is the best choice almost every time: it is tiny, it changes colour with your font, and it stays sharp at any size. Use the Download PNG button only when you need an image, for example in a poster app, a video edit or a design tool that does not accept text. The PNG has a transparent background, so it sits cleanly on any colour.

For a website, you can also write the HTML code shown in the info table, like ✓ for ✓. For more signs used in maths and marking, browse the math symbols collection.