Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global objects/Math/max

The Math.max() function returns the largest of the zero or more numbers given as input parameters.

Syntax

Math.max([value1[, value2[, ...]]])

Parameters

value1, value2, ...: Numbers.

Return value

The largest of the given numbers. If any of the arguments are NaN or cannot be converted to a number, NaN is returned.

Description

Because Math is not a constructor, max() is a static method of Math (You always use it as Math.max(), rather than as a method of an instanced Math object).

-Infinity is the initial comparant because it is smaller than all other numbers, so that's why when no arguments are given, -Infinity is returned.

If any of the arguments are NaN or cannot be converted to a number, the result is NaN.

Examples

Using Math.max()

Math.max(10, 20);   //  20
Math.max(-10, -20); // -10
Math.max(-10, 20);  //  20

Getting the maximum element of an array

Array.reduce() can be used to find the maximum element in a numeric array, by comparing each value:

var arr = [1,2,3];
var max = arr.reduce(function(a, b) {
    return Math.max(a, b);
});

The following function uses Function.prototype.apply() to get the maximum of an array. getMaxOfArray([1, 2, 3]) is equivalent to Math.max(1, 2, 3), but you can use getMaxOfArray() on programmatically constructed arrays. This should only be used for arrays with relatively few elements.

function getMaxOfArray(numArray) {
  return Math.max.apply(null, numArray);
}

The new spread operator is a shorter way of writing the apply solution to get the maximum of an array:

var arr = [1, 2, 3];
var max = Math.max(...arr);

However, both spread (...) and apply will either fail or return the wrong result if the array has too many elements, because they try to pass the array elements as function parameters. See Using apply and built-in functions for more details. The reduce solution does not have this problem.

Specifications

Specification
ECMAScript (ECMA-262)The definition of 'Math.max' in that specification.

Browser compatibility

Update compatibility data on GitHub

	Desktop						Mobile						Server
	Chrome	Edge	Firefox	Internet Explorer	Opera	Safari	Android webview	Chrome for Android	Firefox for Android	Opera for Android	Safari on iOS	Samsung Internet	Node.js
`max`	Chrome Full support 1	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 1	IE Full support 3	Opera Full support 3	Safari Full support 1	WebView Android Full support 1	Chrome Android Full support 18	Firefox Android Full support 4	Opera Android Full support 10.1	Safari iOS Full support 1	Samsung Internet Android Full support 1.0	nodejs Full support 0.1.100

Legend

Full support: Full support