String.prototype.toString()
Baseline Widely available
This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since July 2015.
ThetoString() method ofString values returns this string value.
Try it
const stringObj = new String("foo");console.log(stringObj);// Expected output: String { "foo" }console.log(stringObj.toString());// Expected output: "foo"Syntax
toString()Parameters
None.
Return value
A string representing the specified string value.
Description
TheString object overrides thetoString method ofObject; it does not inheritObject.prototype.toString(). ForString values, thetoString method returns the string itself (if it's a primitive) or the string that theString object wraps. It has the exact same implementation asString.prototype.valueOf().
ThetoString() method requires itsthis value to be aString primitive or wrapper object. It throws aTypeError for otherthis values without attempting to coerce them to string values.
BecauseString doesn't have a[Symbol.toPrimitive]() method, JavaScript calls thetoString() method automatically when aStringobject is used in a context expecting a string, such as in atemplate literal. However, Stringprimitive values do not consult thetoString() method to becoerced to strings — since they are already strings, no conversion is performed.
String.prototype.toString = () => "Overridden";console.log(`${"foo"}`); // "foo"console.log(`${new String("foo")}`); // "Overridden"Examples
Using toString()
The following example displays the string value of aString object:
const x = new String("Hello world");console.log(x.toString()); // "Hello world"Specifications
| Specification |
|---|
| ECMAScript® 2026 Language Specification # sec-string.prototype.tostring |