Is "With" Capitalized in a Title? | TitleCasePro
Is "with" capitalized in a title? It depends: AP capitalizes "With" (4 letters); APA, Chicago, and MLA keep it lowercase. See the rules and examples.
Quick answer: “With” is a preposition. In APA, Chicago, and MLA it stays lowercase. In AP style it is capitalized, because AP capitalizes all words of four or more letters — and “with” has exactly four. It is always capitalized as the first or last word.
“With” sits right on the boundary that divides the major style guides. At exactly four letters, it gets caught by AP’s “capitalize words of 4+ letters” rule but slips under Chicago’s “5+ letters” threshold and is lowercased entirely by APA and MLA.
Why “With” Is a Borderline Case
The style guides use two different systems for prepositions:
- Length-based (AP, Chicago): capitalize prepositions above a certain length.
- Category-based (APA, MLA): lowercase all prepositions regardless of length.
“With” has four letters, which is exactly where AP and Chicago disagree:
- AP: capitalize 4+ letters → With is Capitalized
- Chicago: capitalize 5+ letters → with stays lowercase
The mental model: AP’s threshold is “4 or more.” Chicago’s is “5 or more.” “With” is the classic example that lands on opposite sides of those two rules.
”With” Across the Major Style Guides
| Style guide | Rule for prepositions | ”with” (4 letters) |
|---|---|---|
| APA | lowercase all | lowercase |
| Chicago | capitalize 5+ letters | lowercase |
| MLA | lowercase all | lowercase |
| AP | capitalize 4+ letters | Capitalize |
| AMA | capitalize everything | Capitalize |
| NY Times | capitalize 4+ letters | Capitalize |
Examples
APA / Chicago / MLA — lowercase:
- Gone with the Wind
- A Room with a View
- Cooking with Confidence
AP / NY Times — capitalized:
- Gone With the Wind
- A Room With a View
- Cooking With Confidence
First or last word — always capitalized:
- With Great Power — With capitalized as the first word
Other 4-Letter Prepositions That Behave the Same
“With” is not alone. These four-letter prepositions follow the exact same split — lowercase in APA/Chicago/MLA, capitalized in AP:
- from
- into
- over
- upon
- onto
- down
⚠️ Tip: If you remember how “with” is treated in each style, you automatically know how from, into, over, and the other four-letter prepositions are treated too.
Get It Right Automatically
The title capitalizer applies the correct length rule for your chosen style, so you never have to count letters. Paste your title, select AP, APA, Chicago, or any other style, and see exactly why “with” was capitalized or lowercased.
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