Element.closest()

This is an experimental technology
Because this technology's specification has not stabilized, check the compatibility table for usage in various browsers. Also note that the syntax and behavior of an experimental technology is subject to change in future versions of browsers as the specification changes.

The Element.closest() method returns the closest ancestor of the current element (or the current element itself) which matches the selectors given in parameter. If there isn't such an ancestor, it returns null.

Syntax

JavaScript
var elt = element.closest(selectors);

Parameters

  • selectors is a DOMString containing a selector list like "p:hover, .toto + q"
  • element is the Element at the top of the tree of elements to be dealt with.

Result value

  • elt is the Element which is the closest ancestor of the selected elements. It may be null.

Exceptions

  • SyntaxError is thrown if the selectors is not a valid selector list string.

Example

HTML
<article>
  <div id="div-01">Here is div-01
    <div id="div-02">Here is div-02
      <div id="div-03">Here is div-03</div>
    </div>
  </div>
</article>
JavaScript
var el = document.getElementById('div-03');

var r1 = el.closest("#div-02");  
// returns the element with the id=div-02

var r2 = el.closest("div div");  
// returns the closest ancestor which is a div in div, here is div-03 itself

var r3 = el.closest("article > div");  
// returns the closest ancestor which is a div and has a parent article, here is div-01

var r4 = el.closest(":not(div)");
// returns the closest ancestor which is not a div, here is the outmost article

Specifications

Specification Status Comment
DOM
The definition of 'Element.closest()' in that specification.		 Living Standard Initial definition.

Browser compatibility

Feature Chrome Firefox (Gecko) Internet Explorer Opera Safari
Basic support 41 35.0 (35.0) No support 28 9
Feature Android Firefox Mobile (Gecko) IE Mobile Opera Mobile Safari Mobile
Basic support ? 35.0 (35.0) No support ? 9.0

See also

License

© 2016 Mozilla Contributors
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-us/docs/web/api/element/closest

API DOM Element Experimental Expérimental Élément Method Reference Référence