border-width

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

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Constituent properties

This property is a shorthand for the following CSS properties:

• border-bottom-width
• border-left-width
• border-right-width
• border-top-width

Syntax

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

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

/* vertical | horizontal */
border-width: 2px 1.5em;

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

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

/* Global keywords */
border-width: inherit;
border-width: initial;
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 nonnegative <length> or a keyword. If it's a keyword, it must be one of the following values:

thin		A thin border
medium		A medium border
thick		A thick border

Note: Because the specification doesn't define the exact thickness denoted by each keyword, the precise result when using one of them is implementation-specific. Nevertheless, they always follow the pattern thin ≤ medium ≤ thick, and the values are constant within a single document.

Formal definition

Formal syntax

<line-width>{1,4}
where 
<line-width> = <length> | thin | medium | thick

Examples

A mix of values and lengths

HTML

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

CSS

#sval {
  border: ridge #ccc;
  border-width: 6px;
}
#bival {
  border: solid red;
  border-width: 2px 10px;
}
#treval {
  border: dotted orange;
  border-width: 0.3em 0 9px;
}
#fourval {
  border: solid lightgreen;
  border-width: thin medium thick 1em;
}
p {
  width: auto;
  margin: 0.25em;
  padding: 0.25em;
}

Result

Specifications

Browser compatibility

See also

• The border-related shorthand properties: border, border-style, border-color
• The border-width-related properties: border-bottom-width, border-left-width, border-right-width, border-top-width