---
title: Division (/)
slug: Web/JavaScript/Reference/Operators/Division
page-type: javascript-operator
browser-compat: javascript.operators.division
sidebar: jssidebar
---

The **division (`/`)** operator produces the quotient of its operands where the left operand is the dividend and the right operand is the divisor.

{{InteractiveExample("JavaScript Demo: Division (/) operator")}}

```js interactive-example
console.log(12 / 2);
// Expected output: 6

console.log(3 / 2);
// Expected output: 1.5

console.log(6 / "3");
// Expected output: 2

console.log(2 / 0);
// Expected output: Infinity
```

## Syntax

```js-nolint
x / y
```

## Description

The `/` operator is overloaded for two types of operands: number and [BigInt](/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/BigInt). It first [coerces both operands to numeric values](/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Guide/Data_structures#numeric_coercion) and tests the types of them. It performs BigInt division if both operands become BigInts; otherwise, it performs number division. A {{jsxref("TypeError")}} is thrown if one operand becomes a BigInt but the other becomes a number.

For BigInt division, the result is the quotient of the two operands truncated towards zero, and the remainder is discarded. A {{jsxref("RangeError")}} is thrown if the divisor `y` is `0n`. This is because number division by zero returns `Infinity` or `-Infinity`, but BigInt has no concept of infinity.

## Examples

### Division using numbers

```js
1 / 2; // 0.5
Math.floor(3 / 2); // 1
1.0 / 2.0; // 0.5

2 / 0; // Infinity
2.0 / 0.0; // Infinity, because 0.0 === 0
2.0 / -0.0; // -Infinity
```

Other non-BigInt values are coerced to numbers:

```js
5 / "2"; // 2.5
5 / "foo"; // NaN
```

### Division using BigInts

```js
1n / 2n; // 0n
5n / 3n; // 1n
-1n / 3n; // 0n
1n / -3n; // 0n

2n / 0n; // RangeError: BigInt division by zero
```

You cannot mix BigInt and number operands in division.

```js example-bad
2n / 2; // TypeError: Cannot mix BigInt and other types, use explicit conversions
2 / 2n; // TypeError: Cannot mix BigInt and other types, use explicit conversions
```

To do division with a BigInt and a non-BigInt, convert either operand:

```js
2n / BigInt(2); // 1n
Number(2n) / 2; // 1
```

## Specifications

{{Specifications}}

## Browser compatibility

{{Compat}}

## See also

- [Addition (`+`)](/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Operators/Addition)
- [Subtraction (`-`)](/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Operators/Subtraction)
- [Multiplication (`*`)](/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Operators/Multiplication)
- [Remainder (`%`)](/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Operators/Remainder)
- [Exponentiation (`**`)](/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Operators/Exponentiation)
- [Increment (`++`)](/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Operators/Increment)
- [Decrement (`--`)](/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Operators/Decrement)
- [Unary negation (`-`)](/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Operators/Unary_negation)
- [Unary plus (`+`)](/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Operators/Unary_plus)