Web/HTML/Element/var

The HTML Variable element (<var>) represents the name of a variable in a mathematical expression or a programming context. It's typically presented using an italicized version of the current typeface, although that behavior is browser-dependent.

The source for this interactive example is stored in a GitHub repository. If you'd like to contribute to the interactive examples project, please clone https://github.com/mdn/interactive-examples and send us a pull request.

Content categories	Flow content, phrasing content, palpable content.
Permitted content	Phrasing content.
Tag omission	None, both the starting and ending tag are mandatory.
Permitted parents	Any element that accepts phrasing content.
Implicit ARIA role	No corresponding role
Permitted ARIA roles	Any
DOM interface	`HTMLElement`

Attributes

This element only includes the global attributes.

Usage notes

Related elements

Other elements that are used in contexts in which <var> is commonly used include:

<code>: The HTML Code element
<kbd>: The HTML Keyboard input element
<samp>: The HTML Sample Output element

If you encounter code that is mistakenly using <var> for style purposes rather than semantic purposes, you should either use a <span> with appropriate CSS or, an appropriate semantic element among the following:

Default style

Most browsers apply font-style to "italic" when rendering <var>. This can be overridden in CSS, like this:

var {
  font: bold 15px "Courier", "Courier New", monospace;
}

Examples

Basic example

Here's a simple example, using <var> to denote variable names in a mathematical equation.

<p>A simple equation:
  <var>x</var> = <var>y</var> + 2 </p>

The output:

Overriding the default style

Using CSS, you can override the default style for the <var> element. In this example, variable names are rendered using bold Courier if it's available, otherwise it falls back to the default monospace font.

CSS

var {
  font: bold 15px "Courier", "Courier New", monospace;
}

HTML

<p>The variables <var>minSpeed</var> and <var>maxSpeed</var> control
   the minimum and maximum speed of the apparatus in revolutions
   per minute (RPM).</p>

This HTML uses <var> to enclose the names of two variables.

Result

Specifications

Specification	Status	Comment
HTML Living StandardThe definition of '<var>' in that specification.	Living Standard
HTML5The definition of '<var>' in that specification.	Recommendation

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet
`var`	Chrome Full support Yes	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support Yes	Opera Full support Yes	Safari Full support Yes	WebView Android Full support Yes	Chrome Android Full support Yes	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support Yes	Safari iOS Full support Yes	Samsung Internet Android Full support Yes

Legend

Full support: Full support

<var>: The Variable element by Mozilla Contributors is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.5.