How to Change the Default Font in Microsoft Word for Mac

Melissa Holt Read more March 14, 2021

There are dozens of fonts included in Microsoft Word for Mac, but there’s only one default font. This font is automatically chosen for you when you create a new document. In recent versions of Word for Mac, that font is Calibri, which matches MS Windows.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with Calibri; it’s a lovely font indeed, but it may not be for everyone. If you prefer to use a different default font for your documents, you can configure Word for Mac to change it to any other installed font that you choose. Here’s how to do it!

How to Change the Default Font in Microsoft Word for Mac

Launch Word for Mac and select “Format > Font” from the menu bar at the top. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut “Command-D.”
A new “Font” window will appear. Make sure you’re on the “Font” tab and locate the Font drop-down menu near the window’s top-left section.
Click on the drop-down entry to open the menu and choose a new default font, such as Times New Roman. You can also configure the default font style and size.
To save the new font’s settings as default, click the “Default” button in the window’s lower-left corner.
Word will ask you to confirm whether you want the setting to apply to your current document or all documents you create. Select the radio button next to “All documents based on the Normal template,” then click “OK” to save the new default font.
Confirm the changes by exiting the document and opening a new one—type something in the new file to verify that your new default font works.

Now, all new documents you create will start with the font choices you made previously. Of course, this won’t change existing files, and it also won’t affect any Word for Mac documents you create that start from templates.