Sort an Array of Strings in Descending order in JavaScript

# Sort an Array of Strings in Descending order in JavaScript

To sort an array of strings in descending order:

1. Call the sort() method on the array.
2. Call the reverse() method on the result.
3. The returned array will have its elements sorted in descending order.

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// ✅ Sort in Descending order
const strArr1 = ['a', 'c', 'z', 'f'];
const descArr = strArr1.sort().reverse();
console.log(descArr); // 👉️ ['z', 'f', 'c', 'a']

// ✅ Sort in Descending order (Alternative)
const strArr2 = ['a', 'c', 'z', 'f'];
const descArr2 = strArr2.sort((a, b) => (a > b ? -1 : 1));
console.log(descArr2); // 👉️ ['z', 'f', 'c', 'a']

// ✅ Sort in ascending order
const strArr3 = ['z', 'c', 'a', 'f'];
const ascArr = strArr3.sort();
console.log(ascArr); // 👉️ ['a', 'c', 'f', 'z']

We used the Array.sort() method to sort a string array in descending order.

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// ✅ Sort in Descending order
const strArr1 = ['a', 'c', 'z', 'f'];
const descArr = strArr1.sort().reverse();
console.log(descArr); // 👉️ ['z', 'f', 'c', 'a']

console.log(strArr1); // 👉️ ['z', 'f', 'c', 'a']

# Sort an Array of Strings in Descending order without mutation

If you want to sort the array without mutating it, use the spread syntax (...) to create a shallow copy before calling the sort() method.

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// ✅ Sort in Descending order
const strArr1 = ['a', 'c', 'z', 'f'];
const descArr = [...strArr1].sort().reverse();

console.log(descArr); // 👉️ ['z', 'f', 'c', 'a']
console.log(strArr1); // 👉️ ['a', 'c', 'z', 'f']

// ✅ Sort in Descending order (Alternative)
const strArr2 = ['a', 'c', 'z', 'f'];
const descArr2 = [...strArr2].sort((a, b) => (a > b ? -1 : 1));
console.log(descArr2); // 👉️ ['z', 'f', 'c', 'a']

We used the spread syntax (...) to unpack the values of the array into a new array before calling the sort method.

The sort() and reverse() approach is probably the easiest to read of the 2 approaches in the code sample.

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// ✅ Sort in Descending order
const strArr1 = ['a', 'c', 'z', 'f'];
const descArr = strArr1.sort().reverse();
console.log(descArr); // 👉️ ['z', 'f', 'c', 'a']

When called without any parameters, the sort method converts the array elements to strings (if necessary) and sorts them according to their UTF-16 code unit values.

The Array.reverse() method reverses the array in place and returns the result.

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// 👇️ ['c', 'b',' 'a']
console.log(['a', 'b', 'c'].reverse());

The parameter we passed to the sort method in the second example is a function that defines the sort order.

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const strArr2 = ['a', 'c', 'z', 'f'];
const descArr2 = [...strArr2].sort((a, b) => (a > b ? -1 : 1));
console.log(descArr2); // 👉️ ['z', 'f', 'c', 'a']

If the function parameter is not provided to the sort method, the array elements get converted to strings and sorted according to their UTF-16 code unit values.

This is not what we want when we need to sort an array of strings in descending order, however, it's exactly what we want when sorting string arrays in ascending order.

If the return value of the compare function is greater than 0, then sort b before a.

If the return value of the compare function is less than 0, then sort a before b.

If the return value of the compare function is equal to 0, keep the original order of a and b.

# Additional Resources

You can learn more about the related topics by checking out the following tutorials:

• How to sort a Set in JavaScript
• Sort an Array of Objects by Boolean property in JavaScript
• Sort an Array of Objects by Date property in JavaScript
• Sort an Array with NULL values coming last in JavaScript
• Sort an Array without Mutation using JavaScript
• Sort an Array of strings ignoring the Case in JavaScript
• How to sort a Map in JavaScript
• Sort the Keys of an Object in JavaScript