Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global objects/Symbol/toString

The toString() method returns a string representing the specified Symbol object.

Syntax

Symbol().toString()

Return value

A string representing the specified Symbol object.

Description

The Symbol object overrides the toString method of the Object object; it does not inherit Object.prototype.toString(). For Symbol objects, the toString method returns a string representation of the object.

No string concatenation

While you can call toString() on Symbols, you cannot use string concatenation with them:

Symbol('foo') + 'bar'        // TypeError: Can't convert symbol to string

Examples

Using toString()

Symbol('desc').toString()    // "Symbol(desc)"

// well-known symbols
Symbol.iterator.toString()   // "Symbol(Symbol.iterator)

// global symbols
Symbol.for('foo').toString() // "Symbol(foo)"

Specifications

Specification
ECMAScript (ECMA-262)The definition of 'Symbol.prototype.toString' 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
`toString`	Chrome Full support 38	Edge Full support 12	Firefox Full support 36	IE No support No	Opera Full support 25	Safari Full support 9	WebView Android Full support 38	Chrome Android Full support 38	Firefox Android Full support 36	Opera Android Full support 25	Safari iOS Full support 9	Samsung Internet Android Full support 3.0	nodejs Full support 0.12

Legend

Full support: Full support
No support: No support