How to Strikethrough Text in a PDF

To strikethrough text in a PDF, open the file in an online editor, switch to the markup or shapes tool, and draw a thin horizontal line straight across the words you want to cross out. Hold steady so the line tracks the middle of the text, then save. For text you typed yourself, you can instead apply a strikethrough style directly. Both take under a minute. The right method depends on whether the words are part of the original document or text you added.

Key takeaways

• Two real methods: draw a strike line over existing PDF text, or apply a true strikethrough style to text you typed in the editor.
• Original PDF text can't be "styled." Words baked into the document are fixed, so the practical way to cross them out is to draw a line through them.
• Keep the line on the text's centerline so it reads as a strikethrough, not an underline or a random mark above the words.
• Strikethrough means "deleted but still readable." If you need the words truly gone and unrecoverable, that's redaction, not a strike line.
• A drawn line is the universal route because it works regardless of fonts, scans, or how the PDF was made.
• The usual snag is a wobbly or off-center line, or expecting a scanned PDF to let you select and style words it never stored as text.

What strikethrough actually does in a PDF

Strikethrough is a horizontal line through the middle of text that signals the words are crossed out: deleted, superseded, or under review, but still legible. It's the visual shorthand editors, lawyers, and reviewers use to say "remove this" without erasing it, so the reader can see both the original and the intent to cut it.

That last part matters, because it's where people get tripped up. Strikethrough does not delete anything. The struck words are still in the file, still selectable, still readable by anyone who opens it. If your goal is to show an edit, that's exactly right. If your goal is to hide confidential text so nobody can recover it, strikethrough is the wrong tool entirely, you want redaction, which we'll come back to.

There are two distinct situations, and they call for different methods. The first is text that's already part of the PDF, a clause in a contract, a line in a printed report, a sentence in a scan. You can't restyle that text, so you cross it out by drawing a line over it. The second is text you add yourself inside the editor, where you have full control and can apply a genuine strikethrough style the same way you'd bold or underline text in a PDF. The rest of this guide covers both.

Method 1: draw a strike line over existing text

This is the route for any text that's already in the PDF, which is most of the time. You're not editing the words; you're placing a thin line across them.

1. Open your file in the editor. Go to Edit PDF and upload the document. It opens in your browser, ready to mark up.
2. Pick the line or shape tool. Select the drawing tool and choose a straight line (not freehand, if a straight-line option is offered, it keeps the strike clean).
3. Set a thin stroke and a clear color. A 1 to 2 point line works for body text. Black or dark red is conventional; red reads as "this is an edit."
4. Draw across the middle of the words. Click at the start of the text, drag straight to the end, and release. Aim for the vertical center of the line of text so it reads as a strikethrough rather than an underline.
5. Nudge it into place if needed. Select the line and use arrow keys or drag to center it precisely over the words. Adjust the endpoints so it starts and ends flush with the text.
6. Repeat for each line, then save. Strike each line of text separately for clean results, then export and download the finished PDF.

That's the whole job. Because you're drawing rather than editing the underlying text, this method works on any PDF, no matter the font, the language, or whether the file came from Word, a design app, or a scanner.

The catch: the line drifts off the text's centerline

Here's the snag nobody warns you about. A strikethrough only looks like a strikethrough when the line sits on the vertical middle of the text. Drag it a hair too low and it becomes an underline; too high and it floats above the words like a stray mark. On a long line of text, it's easy to start centered and end slightly tilted, so the line crosses the words at the start and grazes the tops at the end.

Two fixes. First, zoom in before you draw, around 150 percent, so you can see the centerline clearly and place the endpoints accurately. Second, after drawing, select the line and check both ends: they should both intersect the same horizontal middle. If the line tilted, delete it and redraw rather than fighting to level it. For a block of several lines, draw and place one cleanly, then repeat the exact height for the rest so they're consistent down the page.

Method 2: apply a real strikethrough to text you typed

Use this route when the words are text you added in the editor, a note, a revised sentence, a label, rather than original document content. Here you can apply a true strikethrough style, which moves and resizes with the text automatically.

1. Add or select your text. Place a text box and type, or click into text you already added in the editor.
2. Select the words to cross out. Highlight the specific text, the whole box or just part of it.
3. Apply the strikethrough style. Use the strikethrough control in the text formatting toolbar (often an "S" with a line through it), the same family of controls you'd use to bold or italicize text in a PDF.
4. Save and download. Export the file; the struck style stays attached to the text.

The advantage here is that the strikethrough is part of the text, not a separate drawn object. If you later move the text box or change the font size, the line moves and scales with it, so it never drifts off center. This only applies to text you create inside the editor, though, original PDF text doesn't expose these controls, which is exactly why Method 1 exists.

Which method should you use?

The choice comes down to whether the text is original to the PDF or something you typed.

If you find yourself wanting to cross out original text and add a replacement, a common review pattern, draw the strike line over the old words (Method 1), then add a small text box nearby with the new wording and, optionally, apply a strikethrough or color to distinguish it.

When a different tool is the better call

Strikethrough is for showing edits, not for hiding information. If you're crossing out a Social Security number, a salary, or any confidential detail because you don't want the recipient to read it, drawing a line over it does almost nothing, the text underneath is still fully selectable and copyable. That's a redaction job, which actually removes the underlying text and covers the area, so the words can't be recovered. Reach for redaction whenever the goal is secrecy rather than markup. Use strikethrough only when you want the reader to see what was cut.

Likewise, if you simply want to emphasize text rather than cross it out, a colored background reads better than a line; see our guide on how to highlight text in a PDF and save the highlights.

Platform notes: phone, Mac, and Windows

The online routes above work the same in any browser, on a laptop or a phone, because the work happens on the server rather than the device. A few platform-specific notes are still worth knowing:

• iPhone and iPad: Markup in Files or Books lets you draw a freehand line over text, but keeping it straight on a touchscreen is fiddly. The browser editor with a straight-line tool gives a cleaner result. If you do use Apple Markup, zoom in and draw slowly.
• Mac: Preview's annotation toolbar can add a line shape you drag across text, and it can also strike text in PDFs that expose selectable text. For mixed jobs across many files, the browser route is more consistent.
• Windows: There's no reliable built-in PDF strikethrough tool, so the browser editor is usually the simplest path. Some PDF readers offer a strikethrough annotation when text is selectable, but it won't work on scans.
• Android: Same browser flow as desktop. Drawing apps can add a line, but a straight-line tool in the editor keeps strikethroughs neat.

Across all of them the principle is identical: for original text, draw a line through the middle of the words; for text you typed in the editor, apply the strikethrough style.

A worked example

Say you're reviewing a two-page service agreement and you need to cross out one outdated clause and flag a price that changed. You open the agreement in Edit PDF, zoom to 150 percent, and pick the straight-line tool with a thin red stroke. You draw a line across the centerline of the obsolete clause, line by line, nudging each into place so they all sit at the same height. For the changed price, you strike the old figure the same way, then add a small text box beside it reading "now $4,200" so the reviewer sees both the cut and the correction. You save and download. The original text stays readable, the edits are obvious, and nobody had to retype the contract.

Now suppose instead you'd typed a draft paragraph yourself in the editor and wanted to mark one sentence as removed. Method 2 fits: select the sentence, click the strikethrough control, save. The line stays glued to the text even if you reposition the box later.

A note on privacy

Since you're uploading a document to mark it up, here's a plain-language note: an online editor processes your file on a server to add the strike lines or styles, and files aren't kept long-term. That's normal for browser-based PDF work. One thing to keep in mind specific to strikethrough, struck-out words are still present and readable in the file, so if the text is sensitive, use redaction instead of a strike line before you share the document.

FAQ

How do I cross out text in a PDF?

Open the PDF in an online editor, choose the line or shape tool, set a thin stroke, and draw a straight horizontal line across the middle of the words you want crossed out. Center the line on the text so it reads as a strikethrough rather than an underline, then save and download. For text you typed yourself in the editor, you can instead select it and apply a strikethrough style directly.

Why can't I just select PDF text and apply strikethrough?

Because text that's part of the original PDF is fixed in the page, it isn't editable the way a word processor's text is, so most editors don't let you restyle it. That's why the reliable method for existing words is to draw a line over them. Only text you add inside the editor exposes formatting controls like strikethrough. Scanned PDFs make this even clearer: they're images with no selectable text at all, so drawing a line is the only option.

Does strikethrough delete the text from the PDF?

No. Strikethrough only draws a line over the words; the text underneath stays in the file and is still selectable, copyable, and readable. It signals "this was removed" visually without erasing anything. If your goal is to actually remove confidential text so it can't be recovered, use redaction instead, which deletes the underlying content and covers the area, rather than a strike line.

How do I keep the strike line straight and centered?

Zoom in to about 150 percent before drawing so you can see the text's centerline clearly. Use a straight-line tool rather than freehand, click at the start of the words and drag straight across to the end. After drawing, select the line and check that both endpoints sit on the same horizontal middle; if it tilted, delete and redraw rather than nudging. For multiple lines, place one cleanly and match its height for the rest.

Can I strike out text and add the correct version next to it?

Yes, and it's a common review pattern. Draw a strike line over the old words using the line tool, then add a small text box nearby with the replacement wording. Some reviewers color the new text or place it in brackets so it's clearly the correction. This keeps the original visible with a line through it and the revised version alongside, exactly how tracked edits read on paper, all done in the editor before you export.