Cubed Symbol (³): How to Type, Copy, and Use It
The cubed symbol, ³, is the small raised three you put after something to mean “to the power of 3”: 5³ is 125, and m³ is cubic metres. It’s a single character called superscript three, and it isn’t printed on any keyboard, so most people copy it or use a shortcut. This page has both, plus the cubic units it measures, why cm³ and mL are the same thing, and how to cube a number in code.
If you just need the character, copy ³ from the grid below, along with the squared ², if you need it. If you want the shortcuts and the background, the sections below cover both.
In a hurry?
- Copy it: click ³ in the grid below.
- On Windows: hold Alt and type 0179.
- On Windows/Linux UK/EU layouts: try Alt Gr + 3.
- In Word: type 00B3 then press Alt + X.
- In HTML: write ³ (or ³).
Table of Contents
Copy and paste the cubed symbol
The cubed symbol with the codes you’re likely to need, plus the squared symbol for good measure. Use the grid above to copy with one click; this table is the reference.
| Symbol | Name | Unicode | Windows | HTML | URL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ³ | superscript three | U+00B3 | Alt + 0179 | ³ | %C2%B3 |
| ² | superscript two | U+00B2 | Alt + 0178 | ² | %C2%B2 |
There’s no cubed key on any keyboard, so it takes a shortcut, a code, or a copy. The sections below cover each device, then what ³ actually means and the units it measures.
How to type the cubed symbol on any device
Type ³ on Windows
The reliable method is the Alt code: turn on Num Lock, hold Alt, and type 0179 on the numeric keypad for ³. On many UK and European layouts there’s a faster route, Alt Gr + 3. On a laptop with no keypad, press Windows + . and search “superscript three.”
Type ³ on Mac
The Mac has no dedicated ³ key. The cleanest way is Edit → Emoji & Symbols (or Control + Command + Space) and a search for “superscript three.” Alternatively, type a normal 3 and apply superscript formatting with Control + Command + +, though that makes a styled 3 rather than the ³ character — a distinction covered below.
Type ³ on iPhone and Android
Neither phone keyboard has ³ built in, so copying is easiest on mobile. Tap and hold in the grid above to copy it, then paste. A few third-party keyboards add a superscript row, but there’s no long-press for it on the default keyboards.
Type ³ in Microsoft Word
Two easy routes. Type 00B3 and press Alt + X to turn the code into ³. Or type a 3, select it, and press Ctrl + Shift + = to superscript it. The first gives the real character; the second gives formatted text, which matters if the document will be searched or read aloud.
Type ³ on Linux
Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 00b3, then Enter. On most UK and European layouts, Alt Gr + 3 types ³ directly.
Type ³ in Excel and Google Sheets
To show the character, use =UNICHAR(179) in Excel or =CHAR(179) in Google Sheets. In Excel you can also type a 3, select it in the formula bar, and tick Superscript in Format Cells. Remember a cubed symbol in a cell is only text; it won’t cube anything.
Type ³ in HTML and CSS
In HTML, use the entity ³ (or numeric ³). For a true, scalable exponent, wrap the digit in <sup>3</sup> instead. In CSS content, the escaped code point is \00B3.
Why it’s called ‘cubed’ (the cube connection)
The name isn’t arbitrary: x³ is literally the volume of a cube with sides of length x. A cube 2 units on each edge holds 2 × 2 × 2 = 8 unit cubes, which is why 2 cubed is 8. The power of three matches the three dimensions — length, width, and height — that you multiply together to fill a solid.
That’s the same logic behind squared: x² is the area of a square with side x (two dimensions), and x³ is the volume of a cube (three dimensions). So the little raised number is really counting dimensions, which is exactly why cubed shows up on units of volume — m³, cm³ — the topic of the next section. Once you picture the cube, the symbol stops being abstract: it’s how much space a box holds.
The ³ character vs a formatted superscript
As with the squared symbol, there are two ways to get a small raised 3, and they behave differently. One is the character ³ (U+00B3), a single fixed glyph. The other is a normal digit 3 with superscript formatting applied, the kind you make with a superscript button in Word or <sup> in HTML.
They can look identical, but the ³ character is one character that survives being pasted into plain text and always renders raised, though it’s a fixed size and can look small in big text. A formatted superscript is a real 3 that scales with the font and lines up in equations, but loses its raised look the moment the formatting is stripped. The rule of thumb: for a quick m³ in an email, the ³ character is easiest and travels well; for a document with real maths, use proper superscript formatting. The full comparison is in the [squared symbol](/squared-symbol/) guide.
| ³ character | Formatted 3 | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | one glyph (U+00B3) | a styled normal 3 |
| Survives plain text | yes | no |
| Scales with font | no | yes |
| Best for | quick text, units | equations, headings |
Cubic units: m³, cm³, and the volume they measure
The ³ turns a length unit into a volume unit. A cubic metre (m³) is the space inside a box one metre on every side; a cubic centimetre (cm³) is a box one centimetre each way. You’ll meet them everywhere volume matters: m³ for water, gas, concrete, and shipping; cm³ for small volumes in science and engineering; and cubic feet (ft³) and cubic inches (in³) in countries using imperial units.
One thing that surprises people is how the numbers scale. Because you cube the length, a cubic metre is not 100 cubic centimetres — it’s 1,000,000 of them (100 × 100 × 100). That cube-law jump is why converting volumes feels so dramatic compared with converting lengths, and it’s the ³ doing the work.
cm³, cc, and mL: one volume, three names
Here’s the fact that clears up a surprising amount of confusion: 1 cm³ = 1 cc = 1 mL. They are the exact same volume written three ways, and which one you see just depends on the field.
cm³ (cubic centimetre) is the science and engineering spelling. cc (“cubic centimetre” abbreviated) is used for engine sizes — a “1000cc motorbike” — and, historically, in medicine. mL (millilitre) is the everyday kitchen and pharmacy unit, defined so that exactly a thousand of them make a litre. Since a litre is a cube 10 cm on each side (1000 cm³), it works out that one millilitre is one cubic centimetre. So a 5 mL spoon of medicine, a 5 cc dose, and 5 cm³ of liquid are identical. (Medicine now prefers mL over cc, because “cc” can be misread in handwriting.)
| Name | Used in | Same as |
|---|---|---|
| cm³ | science, engineering | 1 mL |
| cc | engines, older medicine | 1 mL |
| mL | cooking, pharmacy | 1 cm³ |
Cubing in code: use ** 3 or x*x*x, not ³
In programming you never use the ³ character to cube a number; you raise to a power or multiply. Write x ** 3 in Python and JavaScript, Math.pow(x, 3) in JavaScript and Java, or simply x * x * x in any language. In a spreadsheet it’s =A1^3 or =POWER(A1, 3).
The key point is that a ³ in source code is just a character in a string; it does no maths. Paste x³ into most languages and you’ll get a syntax error, not a cube. Reserve the ³ symbol for text, labels, and units like cm³, and use the power operator or multiplication for the actual calculation.
² vs ³ and the rest of the superscript family
The ³ has a full set of siblings, one for each digit: ¹ ² ³ ⁴ ⁵ ⁶ ⁷ ⁸ ⁹ (superscript 1 through 9), plus a superscript zero and a superscript n (ⁿ) for xⁿ. You can copy any of them to build exponents like x⁵ or 10⁶.
There’s a quirk worth knowing: ¹ ² ³ are old — they were part of the Latin-1 character set long before the others, which live in a later Unicode block. Because of that, in some fonts ¹ ² ³ look slightly different from ⁴ ⁵ ⁶ (a touch bolder or set at a different height), so a string like x²³⁴ can render with mismatched digits. If your exponents look uneven, that’s why, and real superscript formatting fixes it.
Copy-paste HTML codes
Every code for the cubed and squared symbols in one place. Click a cell and copy.
| Symbol | Named entity | Numeric entity | URL (percent) code |
|---|---|---|---|
| ³ | ³ | ³ | %C2%B3 |
| ² | ² | ² | %C2%B2 |
For a scalable exponent, use <sup>3</sup> instead of the character. In a CSS content value, the escaped code point is \00B3. For the squared symbol in full, see the [squared symbol](/squared-symbol/) guide; for the cube root, the [square root symbol](/square-root-symbol/) guide.
Troubleshooting
My cubed symbol shows as a box or garbled text
That’s an encoding mismatch: the UTF-8 bytes for ³ (C2 B3) are being read as an older encoding. Set the file, database, and page charset to UTF-8 and it displays correctly.
Alt + 0179 isn’t working
Make sure Num Lock is on and you’re using the numeric keypad, not the top-row numbers. On a UK or European layout, try Alt Gr + 3, or copy ³ from the grid above.
My ³ pasted as a plain 3
You copied a formatted superscript, not the ³ character, and the formatting was stripped on paste. Copy the actual ³ character from the grid above, which survives plain text.
FAQ
How do I type the cubed symbol?
On Windows, hold Alt and type 0179 (or try Alt Gr + 3). In Word, type 00B3 then Alt + X. On a Mac, use Emoji & Symbols. On a phone, copy it. Or click ³ in the grid above.
Why is it called ‘cubed’?
Because x³ is the volume of a cube with side x. Multiplying three dimensions together (length, width, height) matches the power of three, which is also why cubed appears on volume units like m³ and cm³.
Is cm³ the same as mL?
Yes. 1 cm³ = 1 cc = 1 mL — the same volume with three names. cm³ is used in science, cc for engine sizes and older medicine, and mL in cooking and pharmacy.
How do I cube a number in code?
Use the power operator or multiplication, not the ³ character: x ** 3 in Python or JavaScript, Math.pow(x, 3), or x * x * x. A ³ in code is just text and does no maths.
How do I write the cubed symbol in HTML?
Use ³ or ³ for the character, or <sup>3</sup> for a scalable exponent. In a URL it’s %C2%B3.
