$ echo "0 1111 my file 102.00 1003.00 2.99" | cut -d" " -f 7 2.99 Try this if we have more than a one embedded space between the fields Code: $ echo "0 1111 my file 102.00 1003.00 2.99" | tr -s " " | cut -d" " -f 7 2.99