diff --git a/src/OpenFOAM/primitives/strings/string/stringIO.C b/src/OpenFOAM/primitives/strings/string/stringIO.C
index 346ebce3e5f70c5efc85e88272e2d60d20c4808a..c260f27e5f9b557ca6b8bcc7e65b48e7050d0de8 100644
--- a/src/OpenFOAM/primitives/strings/string/stringIO.C
+++ b/src/OpenFOAM/primitives/strings/string/stringIO.C
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
      \\/     M anipulation  |
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Copyright (C) 2011-2015 OpenFOAM Foundation
-    Copyright (C) 2018-2021 OpenCFD Ltd.
+    Copyright (C) 2018-2024 OpenCFD Ltd.
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 License
     This file is part of OpenFOAM.
@@ -48,6 +48,11 @@ Foam::Istream& Foam::operator>>(Istream& is, string& val)
     {
         val = tok.stringToken();
     }
+    else if (tok.isWord())
+    {
+        // Also accept a plain word as a string
+        val = tok.wordToken();
+    }
     else
     {
         FatalIOErrorInFunction(is);