Bold

Bold refers to a typographic weight that makes characters darker and thicker than the surrounding text. It is used to provide emphasis, highlight headings, keywords, and important terms, and to create contrast within a page or document.

In most fonts, bold is a distinct weight, often labeled Bold, Semi-Bold, or Extra-Bold, and is part of a broader weight family that may include light, regular, medium, bold, and extra-bold variants. Designers use bold to draw attention without increasing size, and it is commonly applied to headings, subheadings, and key phrases. Bold can be combined with italics for additional emphasis or stylistic effect, though overuse can reduce readability.

In digital typography, bold can be created by selecting a heavier font weight or by using bold styling in CSS with font-weight values such as 700 or higher. Semantically, bold content in web pages can be marked with the strong element to indicate importance, while the b element represents the visual styling of bold without adding semantic emphasis.

Usage considerations include readability and contrast. Bold text is more prominent but can be visually tiring if used excessively or against low-contrast backgrounds. For accessibility, sufficient contrast between bold text and its background is essential, and screen-reader users should not rely on bold alone to convey meaning.

Historically, bold weights developed as printers expanded type families to provide stronger emphasis. Today, bold is a standard feature of most typefaces and a fundamental tool in typography for organizing and prioritizing information.