function
BaselineWidely available
This feature is well established and works across many devices and browser versions. It’s been available across browsers since July 2015.
Thefunction
declaration creates abinding of a new function to a given name.
You can also define functions using thefunction
expression.
Try it
function calcRectArea(width, height) { return width * height;}console.log(calcRectArea(5, 6));// Expected output: 30
Syntax
function name(param0) { statements}function name(param0, param1) { statements}function name(param0, param1, /* …, */ paramN) { statements}
Parameters
name
The function name.
param
OptionalThe name of a formal parameter for the function. Maximum number of arguments varies in different engines. For the parameters' syntax, see theFunctions reference.
statements
OptionalThe statements which comprise the body of the function.
Description
Afunction
declaration creates aFunction
object. Each time when a function is called, it returns the value specified by the last executedreturn
statement, orundefined
if the end of the function body is reached. Seefunctions for detailed information on functions.
function
declarations behave like a mix ofvar
andlet
:
- Like
let
, in strict mode,function declarations are scoped to the most closely containing block. - Like
let
, function declarations at the top level of a module or within blocks in strict mode cannot beredeclared by any other declaration. - Like
var
, function declarations at the top level of a script (strict or non-strict) become properties onglobalThis
. Function declarations at the top level of a script or function body (strict or non-strict) can be redeclared by anotherfunction
orvar
. - Like both, function declarations can be re-assigned, but you should avoid doing so.
- Unlike either, function declarations arehoisted together with its value and can be called anywhere in its scope.
Block-level function declaration
Warning:Innon-strict mode, function declarations inside blocks behave strangely. Only declare functions in blocks if you are in strict mode.
Functions can be conditionally declared — that is, a function statement can be nested within anif
statement. However, in non-strict mode, the results are inconsistent across implementations.
console.log( `'foo' name ${ "foo" in globalThis ? "is" : "is not" } global. typeof foo is ${typeof foo}`,);if (false) { function foo() { return 1; }}// In Chrome:// 'foo' name is global. typeof foo is undefined//// In Firefox:// 'foo' name is global. typeof foo is undefined//// In Safari:// 'foo' name is global. typeof foo is function
The scoping and hoisting effect won't change regardless of whether theif
body is actually executed.
console.log( `'foo' name ${ "foo" in globalThis ? "is" : "is not" } global. typeof foo is ${typeof foo}`,);if (true) { function foo() { return 1; }}// In Chrome:// 'foo' name is global. typeof foo is undefined//// In Firefox:// 'foo' name is global. typeof foo is undefined//// In Safari:// 'foo' name is global. typeof foo is function
Instrict mode,block-level function declarations are scoped to that block and are hoisted to the top of the block.
"use strict";{ foo(); // Logs "foo" function foo() { console.log("foo"); }}console.log( `'foo' name ${ "foo" in globalThis ? "is" : "is not" } global. typeof foo is ${typeof foo}`,);// 'foo' name is not global. typeof foo is undefined
Hoisting
Function declarations in JavaScript arehoisted to the top of the enclosing function or global scope. You can use the function before you declared it:
hoisted(); // Logs "foo"function hoisted() { console.log("foo");}
Note thatfunction expressions are not hoisted:
notHoisted(); // TypeError: notHoisted is not a functionvar notHoisted = function () { console.log("bar");};
Redeclarations
Whetherfunction
declarations can be redeclared in the same scope depends on what scope it's contained in.
At the top level of a script,function
declarations behave likevar
and can be redeclared by anotherfunction
orvar
but not bylet
,const
, orclass
.
function a(b) {}function a(b, c) {}console.log(a.length); // 2let a = 2; // SyntaxError: Identifier 'a' has already been declared
Whenfunction
declarations are redeclared byvar
, thevar
declaration's initializer always overrides the function's value, regardless of their relative position. This is because function declarations are hoisted before any initializer gets evaluated, so the initializer comes later and overrides the value.
var a = 1;function a() {}console.log(a); // 1
At the top level of a function's body,function
also behaves likevar
and can be redeclared or have the same name as a parameter.
function foo(a) { function a() {} console.log(typeof a);}foo(2); // Logs "function"
At the top level of a module or a block in strict mode,function
declarations behave likelet
and cannot be redeclared by any other declaration.
// Assuming current source is a modulefunction foo() {}function foo() {} // SyntaxError: Identifier 'foo' has already been declared
"use strict";{ function foo() {} function foo() {} // SyntaxError: Identifier 'foo' has already been declared}
Afunction
declaration within acatch
block cannot have the same name as thecatch
-bound identifier, even in non-strict mode.
try {} catch (e) { function e() {} // SyntaxError: Identifier 'e' has already been declared}
Examples
Using function
The following code declares a function that returns the total amount of sales, when given the number of units sold of three products.
function calcSales(unitsA, unitsB, unitsC) { return unitsA * 79 + unitsB * 129 + unitsC * 699;}
Specifications
Specification |
---|
ECMAScript® 2026 Language Specification # sec-function-definitions |