What does "capitalize each word" mean?
This style — often called start case or proper case — capitalizes the first letter of every single word and lowercases the remaining letters. Unlike true title case, it makes no exception for short articles, conjunctions or prepositions: "the", "and" and "of" are all capitalized too. That makes it predictable and easy to read, which is why spreadsheets, design tools and name fields often use it.
Start case vs. title case
It is important not to confuse the two. Title case follows grammar rules and keeps minor words lowercase, so "a tale of two cities" becomes A Tale of Two Cities. Start case capitalizes everything, giving A Tale Of Two Cities. If you are formatting a citation or a formal headline, use the title case converter. If you just want every word to start with a capital — for a list of names, a product label or a CSV column — start case is what you want.
| Input | Capitalize Each Word | Title Case (APA) |
|---|---|---|
| the art of war | The Art Of War | The Art of War |
| jane doe | Jane Doe | Jane Doe |
| back to the future | Back To The Future | Back to the Future |
How to use it
- Paste your text or list into the box above.
- The output capitalizes the first letter of each word instantly.
- Click Copy result and paste it wherever you need it.
FAQ
- Does it capitalize words after a hyphen?
- It capitalizes the first letter of each whitespace-separated word. For hyphenated compounds, use the title case converter, which capitalizes each part of "Mother-In-Law".
- Why is this different from title case?
- Start case capitalizes every word with no exceptions; title case intentionally lowercases minor words like "and", "of" and "the".
- Is it free and private?
- Yes. There is no sign-up and the conversion runs entirely in your browser.