css shorthand property

`border-width` CSS property

The border-width shorthand CSS property sets the width of an element’s border.

Interactive exampleOpen the canonical MDN source to run this embedded demo.

border-width: thick;

border-width: 1em;

border-width: 4px 1.25em;

border-width: 2ex 1.25ex 0.5ex;

border-width: 0 4px 8px 12px;

<section class="default-example" id="default-example">
  <div class="transition-all" id="example-element">
    This is a box with a border around it.
  </div>
</section>

#example-element {
  background-color: palegreen;
  color: black;
  border: 0 solid crimson;
  padding: 0.75em;
  width: 80%;
  height: 100px;
}

Constituent properties

This property is a shorthand for the following CSS properties:

Syntax

/* Keyword values */
border-width: thin;
border-width: medium;
border-width: thick;

/* <length> values */
border-width: 4px;
border-width: 1.2rem;

/* top and bottom | left and right */
border-width: 2px 1.5em;

/* top | left and right | bottom */
border-width: 1px 2em 1.5cm;

/* top | right | bottom | left */
border-width: 1px 2em 0 4rem;

/* Global values */
border-width: inherit;
border-width: initial;
border-width: revert;
border-width: revert-layer;
border-width: unset;

The border-width property may be specified using one, two, three, or four values.

When one value is specified, it applies the same width to all four sides.
When two values are specified, the first width applies to the top and bottom, the second to the left and right.
When three values are specified, the first width applies to the top, the second to the left and right, the third to the bottom.
When four values are specified, the widths apply to the top, right, bottom, and left in that order (clockwise).

Values

<line-width>
- : Defines the width of the border, either as an explicit non-negative <length> or the keywords: thin, medium, or thick. The default is medium.

Formal definition

Formal syntax

Examples

A mix of values and lengths

HTML

<p id="one-value">one value: 6px wide border on all 4 sides</p>
<p id="two-values">
  two different values: 2px wide top and bottom border, 10px wide right and left
  border
</p>
<p id="three-values">
  three different values: 0.3em top, 9px bottom, and zero width right and left
</p>
<p id="four-values">
  four different values: "thin" top, "medium" right, "thick" bottom, and 1em
  left
</p>

CSS

#one-value {
  border: ridge #cccccc;
  border-width: 6px;
}
#two-values {
  border: solid red;
  border-width: 2px 10px;
}
#three-values {
  border: dotted orange;
  border-width: 0.3em 0 9px;
}
#four-values {
  border: solid lightgreen;
  border-width: thin medium thick 1em;
}
p {
  width: auto;
  margin: 0.25em;
  padding: 0.25em;
}

Result