Government of Canada
Symbol of the Government of Canada
Skip to content | Skip to institutional links

Common menu bar links

Home > Gateway to English > Internet: capitalized or not?

Institutional links

Internet: capitalized or not?

Question:

Should the word internet be capitalized or not?

Answer:

There's a simple explanation as to when and why Internet is capitalized. If you're referring to a collection of networks (such as the World Wide Web, newsgroups, chat rooms, and online forums) and internet is preceded by the definite article the, you should use an upper-case I (the Internet). Here Internet is a proper noun.

But if you're referring to a network connecting two or more networks via a bridge or a gateway and are placing the article an in front of the word, you would keep internet in lower case because you're using it generically, as in the following examples:

  • … use the simple hierarchy of the IP address to make routing in an internet somewhat scalable.
  • Install an internet or external router.

Note, however, you should capitalize Internet preceded by the article an when you are using it as a modifier (e.g. an Internet service provider).

Date Modified: 2012-03-29

Top of Page
Important Notices