CSS Combinators
CSS Combinators
A combinator is something that explains the relationship between the selectors.
A CSS selector can contain more than one simple selector. Between the simple selectors, we can include a combinator.
There are four different combinators in CSS:
- descendant selector (space)
- child selector (>)
- adjacent sibling selector (+)
- general sibling selector (~)
Descendant Selector
The descendant selector matches all elements that are descendants of a specified element.
The following example selects all <p> elements inside <div> elements:
Child Selector
The child selector selects all elements that are the children of a specified element.
The following example selects all <p> elements that are children of a <div> element:
Adjacent Sibling Selector
The adjacent sibling selector selects all elements that are the adjacent siblings of a specified element.
Sibling elements must have the same parent element, and "adjacent" means "immediately following".
The following example selects all <p> elements that are placed immediately after <div> elements:
General Sibling Selector
The general sibling selector selects all elements that are siblings of a specified element.
The following example selects all <p> elements that are siblings of <div> elements:
Test Yourself with Exercises!
All CSS Combinator Selectors
| Selector | Example | Example description |
|---|---|---|
| element element | div p | Selects all <p> elements inside <div> elements |
| element>element | div > p | Selects all <p> elements where the parent is a <div> element |
| element+element | div + p | Selects all <p> elements that are placed immediately after <div> elements |
| element1~element2 | p ~ ul | Selects every <ul> element that are preceded by a <p> element |
