Math.sign()

The Math.sign() function returns either a positive or negative +/- 1, indicating the sign of a number passed into the argument. If the number passed into Math.sign() is 0, it will return a +/- 0. Note that if the number is positive, an explicit (+) will not be returned.

Syntax

Math.sign(x)

Parameters

x

A number. If this argument is not a number, it is implicitly converted to one.

Return value

A number representing the sign of the given argument:

• If the argument is positive, returns 1.
• If the argument is negative, returns -1.
• If the argument is positive zero, returns 0.
• If the argument is negative zero, returns -0.
• Otherwise, NaN is returned.

Description

Because sign() is a static method of Math, you always use it as Math.sign(), rather than as a method of a Math object you created (Math is not a constructor).

Polyfill

if (!Math.sign) {
  Math.sign = function(x) {
    // If x is NaN, the result is NaN.
    // If x is -0, the result is -0.
    // If x is +0, the result is +0.
    // If x is negative and not -0, the result is -1.
    // If x is positive and not +0, the result is +1.
    return ((x > 0) - (x < 0)) || +x;
    // A more aesthetic pseudo-representation:
    //
    // ( (x > 0) ? 1 : 0 )  // if x is positive, then positive one
    //          +           // else (because you can't be both - and +)
    // ( (x < 0) ? -1 : 0 ) // if x is negative, then negative one
    //         ||           // if x is 0, -0, or NaN, or not a number,
    //         +x           // then the result will be x, (or) if x is
    //                      // not a number, then x converts to number
  };
}

In the above polyfill, no extra type-coercing is needed to make (x > 0) or (x < 0) numbers because subtracting them from each other forces a type conversion from booleans to numbers.

Examples

Using Math.sign()

Math.sign(3);     //  1
Math.sign(-3);    // -1
Math.sign('-3');  // -1
Math.sign(0);     //  0
Math.sign(-0);    // -0
Math.sign(NaN);   // NaN
Math.sign('foo'); // NaN
Math.sign();      // NaN

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also

• Math.abs()
• Math.ceil()
• Math.floor()
• Math.round()
• Math.trunc()