The symbol “c” with a line over it – which appears as c̅ – usually means “with.” It is used most commonly in the medical field and can be typed in various word processors by selecting through the menus for mathematical symbols. If you don’t want to do that, you can simply copy and paste it from a Google search.
Here’s what you need to know about “c” with a dash over it.
In Medical Use
“C” with a line over it – the symbol looks like c̅ – is a medical shorthand symbol meaning “with.” It’s most often used for patient charts to indicate that medications should be taken together, or certain symptoms are comorbid.
The line above “c” is called a macron. It’s commonly used in other languages as a diacritic mark, or a mark that indicates a specific sound or pronunciation. These symbols include the tilde (often used in Spanish) and the umlaut (often used in German).
In English, however, it’s most commonly seen in advanced mathematical equations. The symbol has also been adopted in medical shorthand to make for relatively easy and distinctive abbreviations.
How To Type A C With A Line Above It
Letters with macrons do not typically appear on the standard English keyboard, either in the United States or in the United Kingdom, nor is there a universal quick trick you can use to type them on every platform.
If you find yourself needing to use the symbol only once and are unsure how to do so, your best option is probably to Google “c with a line over it,” copy the symbol from an existing result, and paste it into your document.
That being said, it is possible to type out c̅ in Google Docs, Microsoft Word, and on various Apple devices.
With Google Docs
Typing c̅ in Google Docs is relatively simple.
- Select the Insert tab.
- Select Equation from your list of options.
- Type “/overline” without the quotation marks, followed by a space.
- In the box that appears, type “c” without the quotation marks.
- Click out of the equation box.
Unfortunately, you do have to go through this process every time you want to type c̅.
With Word
Typing c̅ in word requires activating the Math Autocorrect option.
- Go to the File tab, then Options, then Proofing.
- From there, click on Autocorrect Options.
- Ensure that both checkboxes are selected.
- Close the menu by clicking “Okay.”
- In your document, type “c” then immediately type a backslash and the word “bar” (c\bar).
- Hit the spacebar.
You can then repeat steps 5 and 6 for any future instances of the symbol that you might need.
If you only need to type the symbol once, you might use the equation editor menu.
- Go to the Insert tab.
- In the Symbols group on the far right-hand side of the window, click Equations.
- Select Insert New Equation from the options.
- In the newly-opened Equation Tools menu, click Accent.
- Scroll to Overbars and Underbars, then select the Overbar icon.
- Click on the dashed box in your document and type “c.”
On Apple Devices
Typing c̅ on Apple devices is slightly more complicated, as the symbol menus are hidden behind hotkeys in many cases. That being said, it is still possible to do so.
On a Mac computer:
- Place your cursor over the “c” you want to add a macron to.
- Press and hold the letter “c” on your keyboard for about two seconds. This brings up a menu of options for symbols.
- Select the c̅ from the menu.
If you can’t see c̅ in your menu, you may have to take some extra steps.
- Click the Edit menu, then navigate to Special Characters.
- Type “macron” into the search bar.
- Double-click on the c̅ when you find it.
On an iPhone:
- Press and hold “c.”
- Slide your finger over the c̅ and release.
If the c̅ doesn’t show up, try this:
- Add a language that uses macrons to your keyboard (such as Bulgarian).
- When you need to type that symbol, switch your keyboard to Bulgarian.
- Long-press “c” for options.
- Slide your finger over c̅ and release.
- Switch your keyboard back to English.
Conor is the main writer here at One Minute English and was an English teacher for 10 years. He is interested in helping people with their English skills and learning about using A.I tools at work.
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FAQs
The letter "c" with a line over it is a medical abbreviation often used by doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals. The symbol looks like this: c. The c is almost always lower-case. This symbol actually has a very simple meaning. A c with a line over it just means "with".
What is the meaning of C̅? ›
Meaning. c̅ (c with an overbar) with (from Latin cum) means with.
What is the little C with a line through it? ›
Ȼ (minuscule: ȼ) is a letter of the Latin alphabet, formed from C with the addition of a stroke through the letter.
What does the C with the line through it mean? ›
What does C with a vertical line through it mean? The symbol “¢”: is a symbol for “cent”, which represents one hundredth of a dollar.
What does c with a line mean in medical terms? ›
Sometimes, just a few lines: Progress Note. To save time, we used abbreviations and acronyms. “IPN” was “Intern Progress Note.” “VSS” was “Vital Signs Stable.” The “c” with the line above it was an abbreviation for the Latin “cum” or “with.” The triangle (or delta) stood for change.
What is C in texting lingo? ›
CYA: See ya. “C” is often used as a stand-in for “see,” such as “CYT” (“see you tomorrow”) and “CU” (“see you”). Great chat!
What does c mean in English grammar? ›
noun. , plural C's or Cs, c's or cs. the third letter of the English alphabet, a consonant. any spoken sound represented by the letter C or c, as in cat, race, or circle. something having the shape of a C .
What is the C with a line over it called? ›
Word forms: plural cedillas. countable noun. A cedilla is a symbol that is written under the letter `c' in French, Portuguese, and some other languages to show that you pronounce it like a letter `s' rather than like a letter `k. ' It is written ç.
What symbol is C with a line on top? ›
This symbol actually has a very simple meaning. A c with a line over it just means "with". This abbreviation is often used on patient charts and prescriptions, as well as information or notes written by medical professionals.
What is the symbol C with a vertical line over it? ›
The cent sign is commonly a simple minuscule (lower case) letter c. In North America, the c is crossed by a diagonal or vertical stroke (depending on typeface), yielding the character ¢. The United States one cent coin is generally known by the nickname "penny", alluding to the British coin and unit of that name.
The "C" after the clef in place of the time signature stands for "Common Time," and it is shorthand for 4/4 time. If you see a "C" with a vertical line through it, that stands for "Cut Time," and it is shorthand for 2/2 time.
What does a line in C mean? ›
The #line directive is one of the widely used directives in C. Its main purpose is to reset the line number and filename in the code. This means that we can reset any line of code to an arbitrary line number or a filename defined by the user.
What is the C with a slanted line over it? ›
The grapheme Ć (minuscule: ć), formed from C with the addition of an acute accent, is used in various languages. It usually denotes [t͡ɕ], the voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate, including in phonetic transcription. Its Unicode codepoints are U+0106 for Ć and U+0107 for ć.
What is C line in medical terms? ›
A central line (or central venous catheter) is like an intravenous (IV) line. But it is much longer than a regular IV and goes all the way up to a vein near the heart or just inside the heart. A patient can get medicine, fluids, blood, or nutrition through a central line. It also can be used to draw blood.
How to type C with a line over it? ›
On Windows: You can't type ç directly with a single key combination. However, you can use the Alt code method:Hold down the Alt key. On the numeric keypad, type 0199 for uppercase Ç or 0231 for lowercase ç.
What is C on a line? ›
The equation of a straight line is y=mx+c y = m x + c m is the gradient and c is the height at which the line crosses the y -axis, also known as the y -intercept.
What does C stand for in money? ›
Cent (currency), abbreviated c. or ¢, a monetary unit that equals 1⁄100 of the basic unit of many currencies. Caius or Gaius, abbreviated as C., a common Latin praenomen. Circa, abbreviated as c.
What does it mean to put C before a date? ›
Often dates will be preceded with a "c." or a "ca." These are abbreviations of the Latin word "circa" which means around, or approximately. We use this before a date to indicate that we do not know exactly when something happened, so c. 400 B.C.E.
What does the C before a number mean? ›
c. is written in front of a date or number to indicate that it is approximate. c. is an abbreviation for 'circa'.
What does the C number mean? ›
The term c-number (classical number) is an old nomenclature introduced by Paul Dirac which refers to real and complex numbers. It is used to distinguish from operators (q-numbers or quantum numbers) in quantum mechanics.
