Longest word, by character count
The longest word is the one with the largest length in JavaScript code units, taken over all matches of \b[\w']+\b in the input. The output is one line: Longest word: "WORD" (N characters). If the input has no words at all (only punctuation, whitespace, or is empty), the output is No words found.
Ties are broken by first-encountered. The reduction iterates left-to-right and only replaces the running longest when a strictly longer word is seen. So in "abc xyz" the answer is abc, not xyz, because they tie at length 3 and abc came first.
Hyphens are word boundaries here. state-of-the-art splits into state, of, the, art; the longest of those is state. Apostrophes are inside words: don't is length 5. For the corresponding shortest tool, see find shortest word; for a full distribution, see word frequency.
How to use find the longest word
- 1Paste or type your text into the input panel on the left.
- 2The longest word and its length appear in the output panel as you type.
- 3Click Copy in the output header to copy the result.
- 4Click Download to save it as a plain-text file.
- 5Run find shortest word alongside for the opposite end.
Keyboard shortcuts
Drive TextResult without touching the mouse.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl F | Open the find & replace panel inside the input Plus |
| Ctrl Z | Undo the last input change |
| Ctrl Shift Z | Redo |
| Ctrl Shift Enter | Toggle fullscreen focus on the editor Plus |
| Esc | Close find & replace, or exit fullscreen |
| Ctrl K | Open the command palette to jump to any tool Plus |
| Ctrl S | Save current workflow draft Plus |
| Ctrl P | Run a saved workflow Plus |
What this tool actually does
Tokenizes on \b[\w']+\b
Words are runs of \w with optional internal apostrophes. Hyphens break words. Numbers count.
Length is JavaScript String.length
The character count is UTF-16 code units. For BMP Latin words this matches a hand-count of letters. Surrogate-pair characters (rare in word matches) would count as two.
Ties resolved by first-encountered
A reduce-from-left finds the maximum. The running longest is only replaced when a strictly longer word is seen, so the leftmost word in a tie wins.
No-words case
If the regex finds zero matches (empty input, or punctuation-only), the output is No words found. with no quoted word and no length.
Runs entirely in your browser
No upload, no logging. The result updates on every keystroke.
Worked example
extraordinarily is the only 15-character word; the runner-up is jumps at 5. Replace it with two 10-letter words and the first one wins by tie-break.
The quick brown fox jumps over the extraordinarily lazy dog.
Longest word: "extraordinarily" (15 characters)
Settings reference
| Behaviour | Value |
|---|---|
| Word definition | \b[\w']+\b. |
| Length unit | JavaScript String.length (UTF-16 code units). |
| Tie-break | First-encountered wins. |
| Output format | Longest word: "WORD" (N characters). |
| No-words input | No words found. |
| Hyphenated terms | Split into separate words on the hyphen. |
FAQ
What if there are several words tied for longest?
Does state-of-the-art count as one word?
state, of, the, art. The longest of those is state at 5 characters.What about contractions like don't?
don't is 5 characters (d, o, n, ', t).What does the tool report on empty input?
No words found. The same message appears if the input contains only punctuation, whitespace, or no characters that match \b[\w']+\b.