Thescale()CSSfunction defines a transformation that resizes an element on the 2Dplane. Because the amount of scaling is defined by a vector [sx, sy], it can resize the horizontal and vertical dimensions atdifferent scales. Its result is a<transform-function> data type.

Try it

transform: scale(1);

transform: scale(0.7);

transform: scale(1.3, 0.4);

transform: scale(-0.5, 1);

<section>  <img          src="/shared-assets/images/examples/firefox-logo.svg"    width="200" /></section>

This scaling transformation is characterized by a two-dimensional vector. Its coordinates define how much scaling isdone in each direction. If both coordinates are equal, the scaling is uniform (isotropic) and the aspectratio of the element is preserved (this is ahomothetic transformation).

When a coordinate value is outside the [-1, 1] range, the element grows along that dimension; when inside, itshrinks. A negative value results in apoint reflectionin that dimension. The value1 has no effect.

Syntax

scale(sx)scale(sx, sy)

Values

sx

A<number> or<percentage> representing the abscissa (horizontal, x-component) of the scaling vector.

syOptional

A<number> or<percentage> representing the ordinate (vertical, y-component) of the scaling vector.If not defined, its default value issx, resulting in a uniform scaling that preserves the element'saspect ratio.

Formal syntax

<scale()> =
scale(<number> ,<number>?)

Accessibility

Scaling/zooming animations are problematic for accessibility, as they are a common trigger for certain types ofmigraine. If you need to include such animations on your website, you should provide a control to allow users to turnoff animations, preferably site-wide.

Also, consider making use of theprefers-reduced-motion media feature— use it to write amedia query that will turn off animations if theuser has reduced animation specified in their system preferences.

Find out more:

• MDN Understanding WCAG, Guideline 2.3 explanations
• Understanding Success Criterion 2.3.3 | W3C Understanding WCAG 2.1

Examples

Scaling the X and Y dimensions together

HTML

<div>Normal</div><div>Scaled</div>

CSS

div {  width: 80px;  height: 80px;  background-color: skyblue;}.scaled {  transform: scale(0.7); /* Equal to scaleX(0.7) scaleY(0.7) */  background-color: pink;}

Result

Scaling X and Y dimensions separately, and translating the origin

HTML

<div>Normal</div><div>Scaled</div>

CSS

div {  width: 80px;  height: 80px;  background-color: skyblue;}.scaled {  transform: scale(2, 0.5); /* Equal to scaleX(2) scaleY(0.5) */  transform-origin: left;  background-color: pink;}

Result

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also

• transform
• scale
• zoom
• <transform-function>
• scale3d()
• Other individual transform propertiestranslate androtate