JavaScript Array sort()

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Example

Sort an array:

const fruits = ["Banana", "Orange", "Apple", "Mango"];
fruits.sort();

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More "Try it Yourself" examples below.

Definition and Usage

The sort() method sorts the elements of an array.

The sort order can be either alphabetic or numeric, and either ascending (up) or descending (down).

By default, the sort() method sorts the values as strings in alphabetical and ascending order.

This works well for strings ("Apple" comes before "Banana"). However, if numbers are sorted as strings, "25" is bigger than "100", because "2" is bigger than "1".

Because of this, the sort() method will produce an incorrect result when sorting numbers.

You can fix this by providing a "compare function" (See "Parameter Values" below).

sort() overwrites the original array.

Browser Support

sort() is fully supported in all browsers:


Chrome	IE	Edge	Firefox	Safari	Opera
Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Syntax

array.sort(compareFunction)

Parameter Values

Parameter	Description
compareFunction	Optional. A function that defines an alternative sort order. The function should return a negative, zero, or positive value, depending on the arguments, like: function(a, b){return a-b} When the sort() method compares two values, it sends the values to the compare function, and sorts the values according to the returned (negative, zero, positive) value. Example: When comparing 40 and 100, the sort() method calls the compare function(40,100). The function calculates 40-100, and returns -60 (a negative value). The sort function will sort 40 as a value lower than 100.

Parameter

Description

compareFunction

Optional. A function that defines an alternative sort order. The function should return a negative, zero, or positive value, depending on the arguments, like:

function(a, b){return a-b}

When the sort() method compares two values, it sends the values to the compare function, and sorts the values according to the returned (negative, zero, positive) value.

Example:

When comparing 40 and 100, the sort() method calls the compare function(40,100).

The function calculates 40-100, and returns -60 (a negative value).

The sort function will sort 40 as a value lower than 100.

Technical Details

Return Value:	The Array object, with the items sorted
JavaScript Version:	ECMAScript 1

More Examples

Example

Sort numbers in an array in ascending order:

const points = [40, 100, 1, 5, 25, 10];
points.sort(function(a, b){return a-b});

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Example

Sort numbers in an array in descending order:

const points = [40, 100, 1, 5, 25, 10];
points.sort(function(a, b){return b-a});

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Example

Find the lowest value in an array:

const points = [40, 100, 1, 5, 25, 10];

// Sort the numbers in ascending order
points.sort(function(a, b){return a-b});

// points[0] = 1 (the lowest value)

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Example

Find the highest value in an array:

const points = [40, 100, 1, 5, 25, 10];

// Sort the numbers in descending order:
points.sort(function(a, b){return b-a});

// points[0] = 100 (the highest value)

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Example

Find the highest value in an array:

const points = [40, 100, 1, 5, 25, 10];

// Sort the numbers in ascending order:
points.sort(function(a, b){return a-b});

// points[points.length-1] = 100 (the highest value)

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