An **HTML entity** is used to display invisible characters and reserved characters that would otherwise be interpreted as HTML code. It is a piece of text, or string, that begins with an ampersand (`&`) and ends with a semicolon (`;`).

Live Demo

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>

   <head>
      <title>HTML Entities</title>
   </head>

   <body>
      &lt;div id = &quot;character&quot;&gt;
   </body>

</html>

codemirror

Typically, HTML will interpret the less-than sign (`<`) as a tag. If you would like to have the less-than sign as text, HTML allows you to write `&lt;`, as seen from the example above.

# When to use HTML entities?

Generally, you don't need to use HTML entities if your editor supports Unicode. For some instances, entities can be useful:

- Your editor does not support Unicode.

- Your keyboard does not support the character you would like to type, such as em-dash or the copyright symbol.

- You want specific HTML-specific characters like `<`, `&`, or `"`.

# Useful HTML entities

**`&nbsp;`** - non-breaking space

**`&lt;`** - less than sign

**`&gt;`** - greater than sign

**`&amp;`** - ampersand (`&`)

**`&quot;`** - double quotation mark

**`&apos;`** - single quotation mark

**`&cent;`** - cent sign

**`&pound;`** - pound sign

**`&yen;`** - yen sign

**`&euro;`** - euro sign

**`&copy;`** - copyright

**`&reg;`** - registered trademark

What are HTML entities?

HTML entities display invisible or reserved characters in text. Use &lt; for less-than sign.