Check Mark & Cross Symbols Table
| Symbol | Unicode name | Code point | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| ✓ | Check mark | U+2713 | Inline text ticks, captions |
| ✔ | Heavy check mark | U+2714 | Status rows, display sizes |
| ☑ | BALLOT BOX WITH CHECK | U+2611 | Checked box in forms and surveys |
| ☐ | BALLOT BOX | U+2610 | Empty checkbox (print) |
| ☒ | BALLOT BOX WITH X | U+2612 | Declined / crossed box |
| ✗ | BALLOT X | U+2717 | Wrong answer, rejection |
| ✘ | HEAVY BALLOT X | U+2718 | Display-size rejection |
| × | MULTIPLICATION SIGN | U+00D7 | Close buttons, dimensions (not a letter x) |
| √ | SQUARE ROOT | U+221A | Math radical - a different character from ✓ |
| ⚖ | ORTHODOX CROSS | U+2626 | Religious symbol (lookalike warning) |
The tick family is small and easy to misuse: ✓ (U+2713, CHECK MARK) is the plain text tick, ✔ (U+2714) is its heavy display cousin, ☑ (U+2611) draws the box around the check for form fields, and the cross side mirrors them - ✗ (U+2717, BALLOT X) and ✘ (U+2718) for wrong answers, ☒ (U+2612) for the unchecked box. All live in Unicode's Dingbats and Miscellaneous Symbols blocks, all are first-class text characters, and each carries a name precise enough to search for when the glyph will not type.
The characters also carry history: the ✓ entered the standard from proofreading marks, where a right-side tick meant verified; the ballot rows (☐☑☒) model a voting slip - empty box, checked box, crossed box - which is why forms and survey tools reach for that trio specifically. Grading systems split the ticks from the crosses by weight, UIs reserve the boxed pair for interactive states, and the table separates them by job so a checklist does not end up mixing four different visual grammars.
How to use
- Match the mark to the context before pasting: plain ✓ for inline text and captions, heavy ✔ for display sizes and status rows, ☑ for the checked box in printed forms and surveys, ✗/✘ for incorrect or forbidden, ☒ for the declined checkbox. Mixing families in one list (a ✓ checklist with ✘ rejects) reads fine; mixing weights (✓ and ✔ side by side) reads as an accident.
- Type them by code point or picker: Windows' emoji panel (Win+.) accepts 'check' and offers the whole family; Mac's character viewer (Ctrl+Cmd+Space) groups them under Dingbats; Word turns 2713 followed by Alt+X into ✓; HTML takes ✓ directly. The table's code points are the durable route - search U+2713 anywhere and you land on the true tick.
- Respect the lookalike trap: the math square root √ (U+221A, SQUARE ROOT) is a different character from ✓ even though some fonts draw them nearly alike - pasting √ as a tick breaks screen readers and search. The same caution applies to the letter x typed as a cross: ✗ is a symbol with meaning for assistive tech, x is just a letter wearing a costume.
Frequently asked questions
What is the check mark symbol called in Unicode?
The plain tick is CHECK MARK, U+2713, from the Dingbats block; its bolder sibling is HEAVY CHECK MARK, U+2714. The boxed pair lives one block over in Miscellaneous Symbols: BALLOT BOX WITH CHECK, U+2611, and BALLOT BOX WITH X, U+2612, alongside the empty BALLOT BOX, U+2610. The table records all of them with their official names, which is what character pickers and search actually index.
How do I type ✓ on Windows or Mac?
Windows: open the emoji panel with Win+period and type check, or in Word type 2713 and press Alt+X; the numeric route is Alt+10003 on a full keyboard. Mac: Ctrl+Cmd+Space opens the character viewer - search check. On phones, the emoji and symbols picker lists it under symbols. Copying from this table works everywhere; the code point U+2713 is the version-proof route.
What is the difference between ✓ and ✔?
Weight, not meaning: ✓ (U+2713) is the standard text tick sized to flow inside sentences, while ✔ (U+2714, heavy) is a display glyph that reads at icon sizes and in status bars. Documents should pick one and stay consistent - the heavy pair (✔/✘) matches the boxed pair (☑/☒) in visual weight, which is why UI toolkits tend to standardize on the heavy or boxed sets while running text keeps the light tick.
Which check mark works best in forms and surveys?
The ballot family is the correct grammar: ☐ (U+2610) empty, ☑ (U+2611) checked, ☒ (U+2612) crossed out - three states drawn as one visual system, which is exactly what printed forms and plain-text surveys need. Interactive web forms instead use real checkboxes and leave the characters to static output, because screen readers announce real inputs natively while pasted symbols must be labeled by hand.
Are ✓ and the square root sign the same symbol?
No - √ (U+221A, SQUARE ROOT) is a mathematical operator with radical semantics, while ✓ (U+2713) is a proofreading-born tick; some fonts render them similarly and casual typing often substitutes one for the other. The difference surfaces in accessibility (screen readers announce sqrt, not check), in search (each has its own name), and in rendering across fonts. If a document means verified, the tick is the character; if it means root, the radical is.
Why do some ticks render as emoji?
The ✔ and ✔-adjacent glyphs sit in the emoji presentation zone: with a VS16 selector (or on mobile platforms that default to color), the tick renders as a green emoji check instead of a text glyph. Documents that need consistent monochrome printing should paste the base code points from this table without variation selectors; intentional emoji styling is the one case where adding U+FE0F is the right move.