JavaScript RegExp test() Method

Definition and Usage

test() Method tests for matches in the test string.

If a match is found, it returns true, otherwise return false.

Instance

Example 1

Search for the character "e" in the string:

let text = "The best things in life are free"; let pattern = /e/;
let result = pattern.test(text);

Try it yourself

Example 2

Perform a global search and test "Hello" and "W3School" in the string:

// String:
let text = "Hello world!";
// Find "Hello"
let pattern1 = /Hello/g;
let result1 = pattern1.test(text);
// Find "W3School"
let pattern2 = /W3School/g;
let result2 = pattern2.test(text);

Try it yourself

Syntax

regexp.test(string)

Parameter

Parameter Description
string Required. The string to be searched.

Return value

Type Description
Boolean If a match is found, return true, otherwise return false.

Technical details

Return value

If the string string contains text that matches regexp matching text, then return true, otherwise return false.

Throw

Type Description
TypeError Throw this exception if the object called is not RegExp.

Description

RegExp object's test() Method checks if a string matches a certain pattern.

The test() method will check if the string string, see if it contains text that matches regexp text that matches. If string contains such text, the method will return true, otherwise, return false.

Call the test() method of the RegExp object r and pass the string s to it, which is equivalent to: (r.exec(s) != null).

Browser support

test() Is ECMAScript1 (ES1) feature.

All browsers fully support ES1 (JavaScript 1997):

Chrome IE Edge Firefox Safari Opera
Support Support Support Support Support Support

Regular expression search methods

In JavaScript, regular expression text search can be completed with different methods.

UsagePattern (pattern)As regular expressions, these are the most commonly used methods:

Example Description
text.match(pattern) String method match()
text.search(pattern) String method search()
pattern.exec(text) RexExp Method exec()
pattern.test(text) RexExp Method test()