element.matches

The Element.matches() method returns true if the element would be selected by the specified selector string; otherwise, returns false.

Syntax

var result = element.matches(selectorString); 

• result holds the return value true or false.
• selectorString is a string representing the selector to test.

Example

<ul id="birds">
  <li>Orange-winged parrot</li>
  <li class="endangered">Philippine eagle</li>
  <li>Great white pelican</li>
</ul>

<script type="text/javascript">
  var birds = document.getElementsByTagName('li');

  for (var i = 0; i < birds.length; i++) {
    if (birds[i].matches('.endangered')) {
      console.log('The ' + birds[i].textContent + ' is endangered!');
    }
  }
</script>

This will log "The Philippine eagle is endangered!" to the console, since the element has indeed a class attribute with value endangered.

Exceptions

SYNTAX_ERR

The specified selector string is invalid.

Polyfill

For browsers that do not support Element.matches() or Element.matchesSelector(), but carry support for document.querySelectorAll(), a polyfill exists:

if (!Element.prototype.matches) {
    Element.prototype.matches = 
        Element.prototype.matchesSelector || 
        Element.prototype.mozMatchesSelector ||
        Element.prototype.msMatchesSelector || 
        Element.prototype.oMatchesSelector || 
        Element.prototype.webkitMatchesSelector ||
        function(s) {
            var matches = (this.document || this.ownerDocument).querySelectorAll(s),
                i = matches.length;
            while (--i >= 0 && matches.item(i) !== this) {}
            return i > -1;            
        };
}

However, given the practicality of supporting older browsers, the following should suffice for most (if not all) practical cases (i.e. IE9+ support).

if (!Element.prototype.matches) {
    Element.prototype.matches = Element.prototype.msMatchesSelector;
}

Specification

Browser compatibilityUpdate compatibility data on GitHub

See also

• The syntax of Selectors
• Other methods that take selectors: element.querySelector() and element.closest().