How to delete words added to the custom dictionary in Teams on a Mac

Hello Lauren Duxbury,

To remove words from the custom dictionary in Teams on Mac, you can try the following steps:

1/ Check app-specific custom dictionary files

In some applications, custom dictionary words may be stored separately. For example, in Slack the file is located at: ~/Library/Application Support/Slack/Custom Dictionary.txt

While Teams does not officially document a similar file location, checking application support folders may still help identify where the word is stored.

2/ Remove the word using macOS spellcheck

For applications using the built-in macOS dictionary, you can remove the word directly through macOS:

• Open TextEdit
• Paste the misspelled word
• Select the word
• Hold down Command and right-click the word
• Select “Unlearn Spelling”

This may also remove the word from Teams if Teams is using the macOS spellchecking service.

3/ Clear the Teams cache

You can also try clearing the Teams cache by following Microsoft’s official article below: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/microsoftteams/teams-administration/clear-teams-cache#clear-the-cache-in-teams-for-macos

4/ Reset the Apple spell dictionary

If the issue persists, you might consider resetting the Apple spell dictionary. Please note that this removes all learned custom spellings system-wide, not just Teams, so it is recommended to back up the dictionary first.

Detailed steps can be found here: https://kmarsden.com/2016/09/reset-mac-os-x-dictionary/

Here are also some discussions where users reported experiencing the same issue that you may refer to:

• https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOS/comments/z2a72h/how_to_remove_a_word_from_custom_dictionarythat/
• https://discussions.apple.com/thread/256024264?sortBy=rank
• https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/363765/delete-misspelled-words-from-user-dictionary-in-ma…

Note: These links are shared by community members for your convenience. It points to a third-party site that is not managed or verified by Microsoft. We can’t guarantee the quality, safety, or suitability of any content or software found there. Please review carefully and make sure you understand any potential risks before using them.

I hope the information above is helpful. If you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out.

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