Line Break in Text in LaTeX Equation Environments
May. 24, 2025 • Updated May. 25, 2025
Method 1: by the \parbox command1
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\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\begin{document}
\begin{equation*}
\parbox{1cm}{The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.}\quad\Longleftrightarrow\quad
1+2=3
\end{equation*}
\vspace{5em}
\begin{equation*}
\parbox{3cm}{The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.}\quad\Longleftrightarrow\quad
1+2=3
\end{equation*}
\vspace{5em}
\begin{equation*}
\parbox{5cm}{The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.}\quad\Longleftrightarrow\quad
1+2=3
\end{equation*}
\end{document}
Besides, we can use the first argument, position, of the \parbox command to line up either the top or bottom line (the default position is the center)23:
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\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\begin{document}
\begin{equation*}
\parbox[t]{3cm}{The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.}\quad\Longleftrightarrow\quad
1+2=3
\end{equation*}
\vspace{5em}
\begin{equation*}
\parbox[c]{3cm}{The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.}\quad\Longleftrightarrow\quad
1+2=3
\end{equation*}
\vspace{5em}
\begin{equation*}
\parbox[b]{3cm}{The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.}\quad\Longleftrightarrow\quad
1+2=3
\end{equation*}
\end{document}
Method 2: by the tabular environment4
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\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\begin{document}
\begin{equation*}
\begin{tabular}{@{}l@{}}
The quick brown fox\\jumps over\\the lazy dog.
\end{tabular}
\quad\Longleftrightarrow\quad
1+2=3
\end{equation*}
\vspace{5em}
\begin{equation*}
\begin{tabular}{@{}c@{}}
The quick brown fox\\jumps over\\the lazy dog.
\end{tabular}
\quad\Longleftrightarrow\quad
1+2=3
\end{equation*}
\vspace{5em}
\begin{equation*}
\begin{tabular}{@{}r@{}}
The quick brown fox\\jumps over\\the lazy dog.
\end{tabular}
\quad\Longleftrightarrow\quad
1+2=3
\end{equation*}
\end{document}
Method 3: by the \Centerstack command of the stackengine package56
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\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath}
\usepackage[usestackEOL]{stackengine}
\begin{document}
\begin{equation*}
\Centerstack[l]{The quick brown fox\\jumps over\\the lazy dog.}
\quad\Longleftrightarrow\quad
1+2=3
\end{equation*}
\vspace{5em}
\begin{equation*}
\Centerstack[c]{The quick brown fox\\jumps over\\the lazy dog.}
\quad\Longleftrightarrow\quad
1+2=3
\end{equation*}
\vspace{5em}
\begin{equation*}
\Centerstack[r]{The quick brown fox\\jumps over\\the lazy dog.}
\quad\Longleftrightarrow\quad
1+2=3
\end{equation*}
\end{document}
References