max-width

The max-width CSS property sets the maximum width of an element. It prevents the used value of the width property from becoming larger than the value specified by max-width.

Try it

max-width overrides width, but min-width overrides max-width.

Syntax

css

/* <length> value */
max-width: 3.5em;

/* <percentage> value */
max-width: 75%;

/* Keyword values */
max-width: none;
max-width: max-content;
max-width: min-content;
max-width: fit-content(20em);

/* Global values */
max-width: inherit;
max-width: initial;
max-width: revert;
max-width: revert-layer;
max-width: unset;

Values

<length>

Defines the max-width as an absolute value.

<percentage>

Defines the max-width as a percentage of the containing block's width.

none

No limit on the size of the box.

max-content

The intrinsic preferred max-width.

min-content

The intrinsic minimum max-width.

fit-content(<length-percentage>)

Uses the fit-content formula with the available space replaced by the specified argument, i.e. min(max-content, max(min-content, argument)).

Accessibility concerns

Ensure that elements set with a max-width are not truncated and/or do not obscure other content when the page is zoomed to increase text size.

Formal definition

Initial valuenone
Applies toall elements but non-replaced inline elements, table rows, and row groups
Inheritedno
Percentagesrefer to the width of the containing block
Computed valuethe percentage as specified or the absolute length or none
Animation typea length, percentage or calc();

Formal syntax

max-width = 
  none                                      |
  <length-percentage [0,∞]>                 |
  min-content                               |
  max-content                               |
  fit-content( <length-percentage [0,∞]> )  

<length-percentage> = 
  <length>      |
  <percentage>

Examples

Setting max width in pixels

In this example, the "child" will be either 150 pixels wide or the width of the "parent," whichever is smaller.

HTML

html

<div id="parent">
  <div id="child">
    Fusce pulvinar vestibulum eros, sed luctus ex lobortis quis.
  </div>
</div>

CSS

css

#parent {
  background: lightblue;
  width: 300px;
}

#child {
  background: gold;
  width: 100%;
  max-width: 150px;
}

Result

Specifications

Specification
CSS Box Sizing Module Level 4
# width-height-keywords

Browser compatibility

BCD tables only load in the browser

See also