JavaScript Array shift()

In this tutorial, we will learn about the JavaScript Array shift() method with the help of examples.

The shift() method removes the first element from an array and returns that element.

Example

let languages = ["English", "Java", "Python", "JavaScript"];


// removes the first element of the array
let first = languages.shift()
;
console.log(first);
console.log(languages);

// Output: English
//         [ 'Java', 'Python', 'JavaScript' ]

shift() Syntax

The syntax of the shift() method is:

arr.shift()

Here, arr is an array.

shift() Parameters

The shift() method does not accept any arguments.

shift() Return Value

  • Removes the first element from array and returns that value.
  • Returns undefined if the array is empty.

After removing the element at the 0th index, it shifts other values to consecutive indexes down.

Notes:

  • This method changes the original array and its length.
  • To remove the last element of an array, use the JavaScript Array pop() method.

Example: Using shift() method

var languages = ["JavaScript", "Python", "Java", "C++", "Lua"];


var shifted = languages.shift();


console.log(languages); // [ 'Python', 'Java', 'C++', 'Lua' ]
console.log(shifted); // JavaScript

// shift returns any type of object
var numbers = [
  [1, 2, 3],
  [4, 5, 6],
  [-5, -4, -3],
];

console.log(numbers.shift()); // [ 1, 2, 3 ]

console.log(numbers); // [ [ 4, 5, 6 ], [ -5, -4, -3 ] ]

Output

[ 'Python', 'Java', 'C++', 'Lua' ]
JavaScript
[ 1, 2, 3 ]
[ [ 4, 5, 6 ], [ -5, -4, -3 ] ]

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