How to Delete a Page in Word UK: A Practical Guide

To delete a page in Word, remove the text, paragraph marks or break creating it; Word does not treat a page as a separate object. On Windows, you can select a whole page with Ctrl+G, type \page, press Enter, close the dialog and press Delete. For a blank page, show formatting marks first so you can identify the extra paragraph or page break. Save a copy before removing section breaks or changing complex layouts.

What You’ll Need

A Microsoft Word document you can edit. The steps below use Word for Microsoft 365 on Windows; most also apply to recent desktop versions.
A keyboard and, for a stubborn blank page, the option to display formatting marks. You do not need an add-in or special software.
If the document is important, a saved copy or a recent version in OneDrive. Deleting a section break can change page layout and headers as well as remove a page.

Step-by-Step

Save the document and find the page. Open the document in Word and save it with Ctrl+S on Windows. Scroll to the unwanted page and check whether it contains text, a table, an image, or is completely blank. If the page is part of a shared or carefully formatted document, consider using File > Save As to create a working copy before you edit.
Choose whether to remove the whole page or only its contents. If the unwanted page contains material you no longer need, you can select the page contents and delete them. If you only want to shorten the document, deleting a few paragraphs or resizing an object may be enough. Word repaginates automatically, so removing content from one page can move text from later pages upwards without deleting those pages as separate items.
Select a complete page in desktop Word for Windows. Click anywhere on the page you want to remove. Press Ctrl+G to open the Go To tab in the Find and Replace dialog. In the Enter page number box, type \page, then press Enter. Word selects the contents of the current page. Click Close to dismiss the dialog without clearing the selection, then check the highlighted area before you delete it. Press Delete or Backspace once to remove the selection.
Check the result before making more changes. The page may disappear, or the text that followed it may move up and fill the space. Scroll through the surrounding pages to make sure headings, images, tables and footnotes still appear in the right order. If the selection removed something you wanted to keep, press Ctrl+Z immediately to undo it, then use a more selective method.
Delete a page by selecting its contents manually. Click at the start of the unwanted text, then drag to its end, or click at the beginning, hold Shift and click at the end. Include an image or table only if you intend to remove it. Press Delete. For a large document, use the Navigation Pane: choose View > Navigation Pane, select the Pages tab and click the page thumbnail to locate the page. The pane helps you find a page, but it does not delete the page by itself.
Reveal formatting marks if the page is blank or will not go away. On Windows, choose Home > Show/Hide ¶, or press Ctrl+Shift+8. The paragraph symbol (¶), page breaks and section breaks will become visible; they are editing marks and will not print. Look on the blank page and at the end of the previous page for the mark or break that is forcing Word to create another page.
Remove an unwanted page break. If you see the words Page Break, click just before the break and press Delete, or click just after it and press Backspace. Check that the paragraphs on either side now flow as intended. Avoid deleting a break if it is deliberately keeping a new chapter or other content on a fresh page.
Remove extra paragraph marks from a blank page. Click beside an extra ¶ on the empty page and press Backspace or Delete until the blank page goes. Leave the paragraph mark that Word requires at the end of the document. If the page is caused by the final paragraph after a table, select that final mark and set its font size to 1 pt. If necessary, open the Paragraph settings and reduce spacing before and after to 0; do not delete the table-ending paragraph mark.
Handle section breaks with care. A section break can force a new page and control margins, orientation, columns, headers or footers. If you are certain it is unnecessary, select the break while formatting marks are visible and delete it, then check the layout of both sections. Removing a section break can make the following section inherit formatting from the preceding one. If you need the section formatting, keep the break and investigate whether an extra paragraph or another break is creating the blank page.
Hide the editing marks and save. Choose Home > Show/Hide ¶ again, or press Ctrl+Shift+8, to return to the normal view. Save with Ctrl+S and check the document in Print Layout. If you will print or export it, use File > Print to review the page count and make sure the page you meant to remove is no longer present.

On a Mac: The page-selection approach is similar, but the keyboard shortcut for Go To is usually Option+Command+G. Type \page in the Go To field, press Return, close the dialog and check the selection before deleting. To show or hide formatting marks, use Home > Show/Hide ¶; Command+8 is the common Mac shortcut. Ribbon labels and shortcuts can vary slightly by Word version. In Word for the web, select and delete the unwanted content directly; if a section break or layout issue is difficult to edit there, open the document in the desktop app.

Common Mistakes

Expecting to delete a page thumbnail. Word lays out pages from the document’s content and formatting; it does not provide a normal page object that you can select and remove. Delete the content or the break that creates the page instead.
Deleting a section break without checking what it controls. This may change headers, footers, page numbering, margins or orientation in the next section. Save first, and check the pages on both sides after any change.
Removing the wrong page’s contents. The \page command acts on the page containing the insertion point. Click on the intended page before opening Go To, and inspect the highlighted selection before pressing Delete.
Deleting a paragraph mark after a table. Word requires a paragraph after a table at the end of a document. Trying to remove it may not work as expected; reduce its font size and paragraph spacing instead.
Assuming a blank-looking page has no content. A page can contain a tiny paragraph, a break, an anchored object or a table row that is not obvious in the normal view. Turn on formatting marks and inspect it before changing settings.
Using repeated Backspace presses without checking. This can join paragraphs or remove more content than intended. Use Undo straight away if the layout changes unexpectedly, then remove the specific mark or break that caused the extra page.

Tips

Use Show/Hide as a diagnostic tool. Formatting marks make hidden paragraph returns and breaks visible, which is often the quickest way to understand a blank page. They do not alter the document’s printed appearance.
Undo is useful, but a saved copy is safer for layout work. Ctrl+Z on Windows (Command+Z on Mac) reverses a recent edit. For a document with complex sections, keep an untouched copy before changing breaks.
Check what is pushing content onto the next page. If a heading or paragraph moves as a unit, its paragraph settings may have Page break before, Keep with next or Keep lines together enabled. Select the paragraph, open the Paragraph dialog from the Home tab, and review the Line and Page Breaks options. Change only the setting that is causing the unwanted page.
Look for objects as well as text. A large image, text box or table row can force content onto another page. Select the object and resize it or adjust its wrapping only if that is appropriate; avoid changing the whole page’s margins just to hide one object.
Confirm the final page count. Page numbering in the status bar and the Print preview can help confirm the result. A page number printed in a footer may not match the current page count if the document uses section-specific numbering.

Troubleshooting

The blank page is still there after deleting a page break. Turn on Show/Hide and inspect both the blank page and the end of the page before it. There may be more than one paragraph mark, another break, or a table at the end. Delete only the unnecessary marks. If the final paragraph after a table is responsible, reduce its font size and spacing as described above.

The page appears again when you type or change the layout. The document may be repaginating because content has changed, or a paragraph setting may be forcing a page break. Check the paragraph immediately before the gap: open its Paragraph settings and review Line and Page Breaks. Also check whether an image, table row or large amount of spacing is taking up the available space. Fix the cause rather than repeatedly deleting the resulting blank page.

Deleting the break changed headers, footers or page numbers. Press Ctrl+Z (Command+Z on Mac) to restore the break if the change was unintended. Section breaks separate formatting settings, so removing one can join sections. If the blank page is required to preserve a section’s layout, leave the break in place and adjust the content or the relevant section settings instead.

The page-selection shortcut does not select what you expect. Make sure the insertion point is on the page you want, and enter \page in the Go To page-number box rather than searching for the word “page” in the document. Close the dialog, inspect the selection and undo immediately if the wrong content is highlighted or removed. If the command is unavailable in your version, select the page’s contents manually.

You are editing in Word for the web and cannot manage the break. Basic text deletion works in the browser, but some advanced layout controls differ from the desktop app. Choose the option to open or edit the file in desktop Word, then use Show/Hide to locate the break. Save your changes and confirm that they appear in the browser version afterwards.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I delete a page in Word without deleting the text on the next page?
Yes. Select only the contents and breaks belonging to the unwanted page, then check the following page. If it moves up, that is normal repagination; its text has not been deleted unless it was part of your selection.

How do I delete a blank page at the end of a Word document?
Show formatting marks with Home > Show/Hide ¶. Remove extra paragraph marks or an unnecessary page break. If a table is the final item, keep its required ending paragraph mark and make that mark smaller or reduce its spacing.

What does typing \page do in Word?
In the Go To page-number box, \page selects the contents of the page containing the cursor. It is not a command that permanently deletes a page; you must check the selection and press Delete or Backspace to remove it.

Will deleting a page break change my document?
It can. A normal page break mainly controls where the next content begins, while a section break can also control layout and headers or footers. Review the type of break and check the surrounding pages after deleting it.

How do I delete a page in Word on a Mac?
Click on the page, use Option+Command+G to open Go To, enter \page, press Return and inspect the selection before deleting. You can also select the contents manually and use Home > Show/Hide ¶ to find hidden breaks.

Why does Word keep adding a blank page?
A paragraph mark, page or section break, table, object, or paragraph pagination setting may be pushing content onto a new page. Show formatting marks, inspect the end of the preceding page and correct the specific cause rather than changing unrelated formatting.

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