Spreadsheet Practice

How to remove a specific word from a cell in Excel

Formula (Excel and Google Sheets)

=TRIM(SUBSTITUTE(A2,$E$1,""))

Replace the word with nothing and tidy the spaces: =TRIM(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"Deluxe","")).

Result on the example
one result per row in B2, filled down to B6
Works in
Every current version
Google Sheets
Same formula

See it work

The formula is already in B2, filled down to B6. Change any input and the result updates, or edit the formula to experiment.

How it works

SUBSTITUTE deletes every copy of the word, which leaves a double space where it was in the middle, or a stray space at the start or end. TRIM cleans all of those up in one step.

=TRIM(SUBSTITUTE(A2,$E$1,""))

Result"Desk Lamp"

  1. A2"Deluxe Desk Lamp"

    The value in A2.

  2. $E$1"Deluxe"

    The value in E1.

  3. SUBSTITUTE(A2,$E$1,"")" Desk Lamp"

    SUBSTITUTE: Replaces matching text.

    • textA2"Deluxe Desk Lamp"
    • old_text$E$1"Deluxe"
    • new_text""
  4. TRIM(SUBSTITUTE(A2,$E$1,""))"Desk Lamp"

    TRIM: Removes extra spaces, leaving single spaces between words.

    • textSUBSTITUTE(A2,$E$1,"")" Desk Lamp"

In Google Sheets

The same formula works in Google Sheets: =TRIM(SUBSTITUTE(A2,$E$1,"")). We ran it in Google Sheets mode on the same data and it returns the same results.

Other ways to do it

Each one was run on the same example sheet.

FormulaResultWhen to use it
=TRIM(SUBSTITUTE(" "&A2&" "," "&$E$1&" "," "))Desk Lamp, Office Chair, Monitor Arm…Removes the word only when it stands alone, so a longer word that contains it is left intact. Padding the text with spaces lets the first and last words match too.

Common mistakes

  • SUBSTITUTE is case-sensitive: "deluxe" in lowercase stays. Lowercase both, or use the case-insensitive Google Sheets version in the FAQ.
  • Without the padded version, removing "Desk" would also break "Desktop".

Try it yourself

Same data, empty answer cell. Your formula is graded instantly, then re-checked on changed data, so a typed-in number won't pass.

Remove a specific word from a cell

In B2, remove the word in E1 from the product name, leaving single spaces between the remaining words. Fill down to B6.

Questions

How do I remove several words?

Nest SUBSTITUTE, one per word, inside one TRIM: =TRIM(SUBSTITUTE(SUBSTITUTE(A2,"Deluxe",""),"Pro","")).

How do I remove a word whatever its case in Google Sheets?

Use =TRIM(REGEXREPLACE(A2,"(?i)\bdeluxe\b","")).

Checked by running on 2026-10-30: every formula and result on this page was calculated by the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine, in both Excel and Google Sheets modes.