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width

The width CSS property sets an element's width. By default, it sets the width of the content area, but if box-sizing is set to border-box, it sets the width of the border area.

Try it

The min-width and max-width properties override width.

Syntax

/* <length> values */
width: 300px;
width: 25em;

/* <percentage> value */
width: 75%;

/* Keyword values */
width: max-content;
width: min-content;
width: fit-content(20em);
width: auto;

/* Global values */
width: inherit;
width: initial;
width: revert;
width: revert-layer;
width: unset;

Values

<length>

Defines the width as an absolute value.

<percentage>

Defines the width as a percentage of the containing block's width.

auto

The browser will calculate and select a width for the specified element.

max-content

The intrinsic preferred width.

min-content

The intrinsic minimum width.

fit-content(<length-percentage>)

Uses the fit-content formula with the available space replaced by the specified argument, i.e. min(max-content, max(min-content, <length-percentage>)).

Accessibility concerns

Ensure that elements set with a width aren't truncated and/or don't obscure other content when the page is zoomed to increase text size.

Formal definition

Initial value auto
Applies to all elements but non-replaced inline elements, table rows, and row groups
Inherited no
Percentages refer to the width of the containing block
Computed value a percentage or auto or the absolute length
Animation type a length, percentage or calc();

Formal syntax

width = 
auto |
<length-percentage [0,∞]> |
min-content |
max-content |
fit-content( <length-percentage [0,∞]> )

<length-percentage> =
<length> |
<percentage>

Examples

Default width

p.goldie {
  background: gold;
}
<p class="goldie">The Mozilla community produces a lot of great software.</p>

Example using pixels and ems

.px_length {
  width: 200px;
  background-color: red;
  color: white;
  border: 1px solid black;
}

.em_length {
  width: 20em;
  background-color: white;
  color: red;
  border: 1px solid black;
}
<div class="px_length">Width measured in px</div>
<div class="em_length">Width measured in em</div>

Example with percentage

.percent {
  width: 20%;
  background-color: silver;
  border: 1px solid red;
}
<div class="percent">Width in percentage</div>

Example using "max-content"

p.maxgreen {
  background: lightgreen;
  width: intrinsic; /* Safari/WebKit uses a non-standard name */
  width: -moz-max-content; /* Firefox/Gecko */
  width: -webkit-max-content; /* Chrome */
  width: max-content;
}
<p class="maxgreen">The Mozilla community produces a lot of great software.</p>

Example using "min-content"

p.minblue {
  background: lightblue;
  width: -moz-min-content; /* Firefox */
  width: -webkit-min-content; /* Chrome */
  width: min-content;
}
<p class="minblue">The Mozilla community produces a lot of great software.</p>

Specifications

Browser compatibility

Desktop Mobile
Chrome Edge Firefox Internet Explorer Opera Safari WebView Android Chrome Android Firefox for Android Opera Android Safari on IOS Samsung Internet
auto 1 12 1 4 3.5 1 4.4 18 4 10.1 1 1.0
animatable 26 12 16 11 15 7 4.4 26 16 14 7 1.5
fill 46 79 No No 33 12 46 46 No 33 12 5.0
fit-content 46221–48 7979 943 No 331515–35 1172 464.44.4–48 462518–48 944 331414–35 1171 5.01.51.0–5.0
fit-content_function No No 91 No No No No No No No No No
max-content 4622 7979 663 No 44 112 46 46 664 43 111 5.0
min-content 461–48 79 663 No 3315–35 112 464.4–48 4618–48 664 3314–35 111 5.01.0–5.0
stretch 22 79 3 No 15 7 4.4 25 4 14 7 5.0

See also

© 2005–2023 MDN contributors.
Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v2.5 or later.
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/auto