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JavaScript String lastIndexOf() Method

Example

Search a string for the last occurrence of "planet":

var str = "Hello planet earth, you are a great planet.";
var n = str.lastIndexOf("planet");
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More "Try it Yourself" examples below.


Definition and Usage

The lastIndexOf() method returns the position of the last occurrence of a specified value in a string.

Note: The string is searched from the end to the beginning, but returns the index starting at the beginning, at position 0.

This method returns -1 if the value to search for never occurs.

Note: The lastIndexOf() method is case sensitive!

Tip: Also look at the indexOf() method.


Browser Support

Method
lastIndexOf() Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Syntax

string.lastIndexOf(searchvalue, start)

Parameter Values

Parameter Description
searchvalue Required. The string to search for
start Optional. The position where to start the search (searching backwards). If omitted, the default value is the length of the string


Technical Details

Return Value: A Number, representing the position where the specified searchvalue occurs for the last time, or -1 if it never occurs
JavaScript Version: ECMAScript 1

More Examples

Example

Search a string for the last occurrence of "planet", starting the search at position 20:

var str = "Hello planet earth, you are a great planet.";
var n = str.lastIndexOf("planet", 20);
Try it Yourself »