The decrement operator (--
) decrements (subtracts one from) its operand
and returns a value.
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.
Syntax
Operator: x-- or --x
Description
If used postfix, with operator after operand (for example,
x--
), the decrement operator decrements and returns the value
before decrementing.
If used prefix, with operator before operand (for example,
--x
), the decrement operator decrements and returns the value
after decrementing.
Examples
Postfix decrement
let x = 3;
y = x--;
// y = 3
// x = 2
Prefix decrement
let a = 2;
b = --a;
// a = 1
// b = 1
Specifications
Browser compatibility
BCD tables only load in the browser