NY Times Title Capitalization Rules
NYT house style is close to AP but slightly stricter. Articles, conjunctions, and prepositions under 4 letters are lowercased.
Word-by-word explanation
NY Times Capitalization Rules
- Capitalise all principal words
- Lowercase: articles (a, an, the)
- Lowercase: a fixed list of short function words (at, by, in, of, on, to, plus as, for, up) — a set list, not a length rule
- Lowercase: coordinating conjunctions
- Capitalise every other preposition — the three-letter Via, Off, Out and Per as well as With, From, Into and anything longer
- First and last word always capitalised
Source for These NY Times Rules
Primary source
New York Times house style
- Published by
- The New York Times Company
This is a newsroom house style, not a numbered public standard, so no edition or year is claimed. The engine implements the headline convention as described on this site: articles, coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions of three letters or fewer are lowercase, and everything else is capitalized — a slightly tighter cutoff than AP.
TitleCasePro is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or a substitute for the publisher above. For how these rules were turned into code, which edge cases the engine decides for you, and how the results are tested, read the methodology. If you believe a rule here is wrong, tell us and cite the section you are reading.
Where NY Times Title Case Is Used
NY Times title capitalization is the standard for Journalism, Feature Writing, Columns, Editorial writing. When your work will be reviewed, published, or cited within these fields, using the correct capitalization shows attention to detail and compliance with professional standards. If your publication specifies a house style, follow that preference over the base standard.
How NY Times Style Works in Practice
NY Times title case follows the New York Times house style manual, one of the most closely watched editorial standards in English-language journalism. NY Times style is similar to AP — both capitalize words above a length threshold — but NY Times uses a slightly different threshold: prepositions of 4 or more letters are capitalized (same as AP), but NYT has specific house rules for a small number of common words. The style is appropriate for editorial journalism, feature writing, and newsroom contexts, particularly when following the New York Times's own publishing conventions.
How the NY Times Capitalizer Works
Paste your title into the tool above. NY Times is already selected, so the result appears immediately. Click "Explain" to see the rule applied to each word. Use the copy button or press ⌘↵ to copy the output. Everything runs in the browser — no account, no signup, no data sent to a server.
To convert a list of titles at once, the batch capitalizer imports CSV and TXT files. To see one title in all nine styles simultaneously, use the style comparison tool.
NY Times Title Case Examples
These examples are generated in real time by the same engine that powers the tool above — every result is guaranteed to match the tool's output.
| Original (lowercase) | NY Times Style |
|---|---|
| the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog | The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over the Lazy Dog |
| a guide to writing about the world | A Guide to Writing About the World |
| why sleep is important for students | Why Sleep Is Important for Students |
| learning through failure and success | Learning Through Failure and Success |
| notes on the art of writing without fear | Notes on the Art of Writing Without Fear |
| how to capitalize titles in academic writing | How to Capitalize Titles in Academic Writing |
| the effects of social media on mental health | The Effects of Social Media on Mental Health |
| introduction to machine learning with python | Introduction to Machine Learning With Python |
Common Edge Cases in NY Times Style
- Prepositions of 3 letters or fewer (at, by, in, of, on, to) stay lowercase.
- "With" (4 letters) is capitalized in NY Times style, matching AP.
- "From," "into," "over," "upon" (4 letters) are capitalized.
- The NY Times editorial team applies specific house exceptions for certain common phrases — consult the full style guide for edge cases.
- Many NY Times online headlines use sentence case for digital readability, while formal composition titles use title case.
How NY Times Differs From AP
NY Times and AP style are closely matched — both are journalism standards and both capitalize words above a length threshold, so for most titles they produce identical output. Where they part, NY Times capitalizes slightly more, not less: its lowercase list stops at a short set of common function words, so three-letter prepositions outside that set take capitals. NY Times gives "Travel Via Rail" and "Coming Out of the Dark" where AP gives "Travel via Rail" and "Coming out of the Dark." AP itself matches APA exactly, so a title set in AP is already correct APA title case. If you are writing for a general journalism context and do not specifically need NY Times house style, AP is the more widely recognized standard.
NY Times Title Capitalization FAQ
Common questions about NY Times title case rules and the NY Times capitalizer.
NY Times title capitalization follows The New York Times house style. It capitalizes all words of four or more letters and lowercases articles, short prepositions (≤3 characters), and coordinating conjunctions. It is similar to AP style with a slightly stricter threshold for prepositions.
Use NY Times title case when writing for The New York Times or a publication that explicitly follows its house style. For most journalistic contexts not tied to a specific outlet, AP style is the broader standard.
All words of four or more letters are capitalized — including prepositions like "From" (4), "With" (4), "Into" (4), "Over" (4), and longer ones. The first and last word are always capitalized.
Articles (a, an, the), prepositions of three or fewer characters (at, by, of, on, to, up, as), and coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet) are lowercase in the middle of a NY Times title.
No. Articles (a, an, the) are lowercase in the middle of a NY Times title. They are capitalized only when they are the first word.
Coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet) are lowercase. Longer conjunctions of four or more letters are capitalized by the 4+ letter rule.
Short prepositions (three characters or fewer) are lowercase: at, by, of, on, to, up, as. Prepositions of four or more letters are capitalized: From, With, Into, Over, Than, Like, About, Among, Between.
Yes. The first word is always capitalized regardless of part of speech.
Yes. The last word is always capitalized.
NY Times is similar to AP but slightly stricter on prepositions — it uses a ≤3 character threshold vs AP's <4 character threshold. Both capitalize "Into" (4 letters) and "From" (4 letters). The main visible differences appear in titles with words of exactly 3 or 4 letters.
Yes. Use the NY Times title capitalizer for instant conversion.
Yes. The Compare Styles tool shows all 9 styles side by side.
Yes. TitleCasePro follows NY Times house style rules. Use the Title Capitalizer or Batch Capitalizer.
The NY Times title capitalizer applies The New York Times house style capitalization rules. NY Times style is similar to AP: words of four or more letters are capitalized, while short articles, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions are lowercase.
NY Times style capitalizes all words of four or more letters. Articles (a, an, the), prepositions of three or fewer letters (at, by, of, on, to, up), and coordinating conjunctions are lowercase. The first and last word are always capitalized.
Yes. TitleCasePro applies the NY Times house style rules: words of 4+ letters are capitalized; short prepositions (≤3 chars), articles, and coordinating conjunctions are lowercase.
It capitalizes all words of four or more letters, including prepositions like "From," "With," and "Into." Articles (a, an, the), three-letter prepositions (at, by, of, on, to), and coordinating conjunctions stay lowercase.
Yes. Click "Explain" to see each word labeled — for example, "into — 4 letters, capitalized per NY Times style."
Yes. Click Copy or press ⌘↵ to copy the result.
Yes. The Compare Styles tool shows NY Times alongside AP, APA, Chicago, and 5 other guides.
Yes. NY Times style is used for headlines and article titles following The New York Times house style.
Yes. If your publication or course follows NY Times style, the tool applies the correct rules.
Yes. The tool handles book and chapter titles in NY Times capitalization format.
Yes. NY Times capitalization applies to section headings and sub-headings in editorial journalism.
Yes. Completely free — no account, no signup, no usage limit.
Yes. Runs entirely in your browser with no server upload required.