border-style

The border-style shorthand CSS property sets the line style for all four sides of an element's border.

The source for this interactive example is stored in a GitHub repository. If you'd like to contribute to the interactive examples project, please clone https://github.com/mdn/interactive-examples and send us a pull request.

Constituent properties

This property is a shorthand for the following CSS properties:

• border-bottom-style
• border-left-style
• border-right-style
• border-top-style

Syntax

/* Keyword values */
border-style: none;
border-style: hidden;
border-style: dotted;
border-style: dashed;
border-style: solid;
border-style: double;
border-style: groove;
border-style: ridge;
border-style: inset;
border-style: outset;

/* vertical | horizontal */
border-style: dotted solid;

/* top | horizontal | bottom */
border-style: hidden double dashed;

/* top | right | bottom | left */
border-style: none solid dotted dashed;

/* Global values */
border-style: inherit;
border-style: initial;
border-style: unset;

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

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

Each value is a keyword chosen from the list below.

Values

<line-style>

Describes the style of the border. It can have the following values:

none		Like the hidden keyword, displays no border. Unless a background-image is set, the computed value of the same side's border-width will be 0, even if the specified value is something else. In the case of table cell and border collapsing, the none value has the lowest priority: if any other conflicting border is set, it will be displayed.
hidden		Like the none keyword, displays no border. Unless a background-image is set, the computed value of the same side's border-width will be 0, even if the specified value is something else. In the case of table cell and border collapsing, the hidden value has the highest priority: if any other conflicting border is set, it won't be displayed.
dotted		Displays a series of rounded dots. The spacing of the dots is not defined by the specification and is implementation-specific. The radius of the dots is half the computed value of the same side's border-width.
dashed		Displays a series of short square-ended dashes or line segments. The exact size and length of the segments are not defined by the specification and are implementation-specific.
solid		Displays a single, straight, solid line.
double		Displays two straight lines that add up to the pixel size defined by border-width.
groove		Displays a border with a carved appearance. It is the opposite of ridge.
ridge		Displays a border with an extruded appearance. It is the opposite of groove.
inset		Displays a border that makes the element appear embedded. It is the opposite of outset. When applied to a table cell with border-collapse set to collapsed, this value behaves like groove.
outset		Displays a border that makes the element appear embossed. It is the opposite of inset. When applied to a table cell with border-collapse set to collapsed, this value behaves like ridge.

Formal definition

Formal syntax

<line-style>{1,4}
where 
<line-style> = none | hidden | dotted | dashed | solid | double | groove | ridge | inset | outset

Examples

Table with all property values

Here is an example of all the property values.

HTML

<table>
  <tr>
    <td class="b1">none</td>
    <td class="b2">hidden</td>
    <td class="b3">dotted</td>
    <td class="b4">dashed</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td class="b5">solid</td>
    <td class="b6">double</td>
    <td class="b7">groove</td>
    <td class="b8">ridge</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td class="b9">inset</td>
    <td class="b10">outset</td>
  </tr>
</table>

CSS

/* Define look of the table */
table {
  border-width: 3px;
  background-color: #52E396;
}
tr, td {
  padding: 2px;
}

/* border-style example classes */
.b1 {border-style:none;}
.b2 {border-style:hidden;}
.b3 {border-style:dotted;}
.b4 {border-style:dashed;}
.b5 {border-style:solid;}
.b6 {border-style:double;}
.b7 {border-style:groove;}
.b8 {border-style:ridge;}
.b9 {border-style:inset;}
.b10 {border-style:outset;}

Result

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also

• The border-related shorthand CSS properties: border, border-width, border-color, border-radius