- See Also
-
Related Guides
- Expression Structure
- Operations on Vectors
- Math & Counting Operations on Lists
- Regular & Coordinate Arrays
- Elements of Lists
- Handling Arrays of Data
- Memory Measurement & Optimization
- Expressions
- Parts of Expressions
- Language Overview
- GPU Computing
- List Manipulation
- Binary Data
- GPU Computing with NVIDIA
- GPU Computing with Apple
- Tech Notes
-
- See Also
-
Related Guides
- Expression Structure
- Operations on Vectors
- Math & Counting Operations on Lists
- Regular & Coordinate Arrays
- Elements of Lists
- Handling Arrays of Data
- Memory Measurement & Optimization
- Expressions
- Parts of Expressions
- Language Overview
- GPU Computing
- List Manipulation
- Binary Data
- GPU Computing with NVIDIA
- GPU Computing with Apple
- Tech Notes
Length[expr]
gives the number of elements in expr.


Length
Length[expr]
gives the number of elements in expr.
Details

- For special objects like SparseArray, QuantityArray, NumericArray or Association, Length returns the length of the corresponding ordinary list. »
- Otherwise, Length[expr] returns 0 whenever AtomQ[expr] is True.
Examples
open all close allBasic Examples (2)
Scope (2)
Generalizations & Extensions (5)
StringLength gives the number of characters:
Explicit numbers have length 0:
Length works on SparseArray objects:
Length works on structured arrays, like SymmetrizedArray objects:
Applications (5)
Properties & Relations (2)
Length gives the maximum index that can be used:
For expressions with length greater than 0, Length[expr] equals First[Dimensions[expr]]:
Possible Issues (5)
Length operates on the FullForm of expressions, not their displayed form:
Rational and complex numbers are atoms, so they have length 0:
Numeric expressions are treated like other expressions, not like explicit numbers:
Length counts only "arguments", not parts of heads:
For nonatomic e, Length[e] is equivalent to First[Dimensions[e]]:
Related Guides
-
▪
- Expression Structure ▪
- Operations on Vectors ▪
- Math & Counting Operations on Lists ▪
- Regular & Coordinate Arrays ▪
- Elements of Lists ▪
- Handling Arrays of Data ▪
- Memory Measurement & Optimization ▪
- Expressions ▪
- Parts of Expressions ▪
- Language Overview ▪
- GPU Computing ▪
- List Manipulation ▪
- Binary Data ▪
- GPU Computing with NVIDIA ▪
- GPU Computing with Apple
Related Links
- An Elementary Introduction to the Wolfram Language : Operations on Lists
- An Elementary Introduction to the Wolfram Language : Strings and Text
- An Elementary Introduction to the Wolfram Language : Ways to Apply Functions
- An Elementary Introduction to the Wolfram Language : Expressions and Their Structure
- NKS|Online (A New Kind of Science)
History
Introduced in 1988 (1.0) | Updated in 2003 (5.0) ▪ 2014 (10.0)
Text
Wolfram Research (1988), Length, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Length.html (updated 2014).
CMS
Wolfram Language. 1988. "Length." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2014. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Length.html.
APA
Wolfram Language. (1988). Length. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Length.html
BibTeX
@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_length, author="Wolfram Research", title="{Length}", year="2014", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Length.html}", note=[Accessed: 08-August-2025]}
BibLaTeX
@online{reference.wolfram_2025_length, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={Length}, year={2014}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Length.html}, note=[Accessed: 08-August-2025]}