What #DIV/0!, #N/A, #VALUE!, and #REF! mean

Excel sometimes shows a short error value in a cell instead of a number or text. These four values each point to a different problem.

#DIV/0! means a formula divided by zero, or by a blank cell that Excel treats as zero.

#N/A means a lookup did not find a match, or a value is not available.

#VALUE! means a formula received the wrong kind of value, such as text where a number is required.

#REF! means a formula points at a cell that no longer exists, or at a position outside the range it was given.

The error value describes the problem. It is not a function name that you type into a cell.