JavaScript in Operator

Last Updated : 24 Dec, 2025

JavaScript in operator is an inbuilt operator which is used to check whether a particular property exists in an object or not. It returns a boolean value true if the specified property is in an object, otherwise, it returns false.

JavaScript
function gfg() {
    // Illustration of in operator 
    const array = ['geeks', 'for',
        'geeks']

    // Output of the indexed number 
    console.log(0 in array);

    // Output of the Value 
    console.log('for' in array);

    // output of the Array property 
    console.log('length' in array);
}
gfg();

Output
true
false
true
  • 0 in array returns true because index 0 exists in the array.
  • 'for' in array returns false because the in operator checks for indexes or property names, not values.
  • 'length' in array returns true because length is a built-in property of arrays.

Syntax:

prop in object

Here are some examples of using the in operator:

Example: Using the in Operator to Check Indexes and Properties in an Array.

JavaScript
// Illustration of in operator
const array = ['geeksforgeeks', 'geeksfor',
    'geeks', 'geeks1']

// Output of the indexed number
console.log(0 in array)
console.log(2 in array)
console.log(5 in array)

// Output of the Value
console.log('for' in array)
console.log('geeksforgeeks' in array)

// output of the Array property
console.log('length' in array)

Output
true
true
false
false
false
true
  • 0 and 2 exist as indexes: true, 5 does not : false.
  • 'for' and 'geeksforgeeks' are values, not property names : false.
  • 'length' is a built-in array property : true.

Example: Using the in Operator to Check the Existence of Properties in an Object.

JavaScript
// Illustration of in operator
const object = {
    val1: 'Geeksforgeeks',
    val2: 'Javascript',
    val3: 'operator',
    val4: 'in'
};

console.log('val1' in object);

delete object.val1;
console.log('val1' in object);

if ('val1' in object === false) {
    object.val1 = 'GEEKSFORGEEKS';
}

console.log(object.val1);

Output
true
false
GEEKSFORGEEKS
  • 'val1' in object returns true because the property exists
  • After deleting object.val1, it returns false since the property no longer exists.
  • The code checks for the missing property and recreates it with a new value.

Parameters:

  • prop: This parameter holds the string or symbol that represents a property name or array index.
  • object: This parameter is an Object that is to be checked whether it contains the prop.

Return value:

This method returns a boolean value. The value true is returned if the specified property is found in an object, else it returns false.

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