CSS rotate Property
Definition and Usage
The rotate property allows you to rotate elements.
The rotate property defines a value for how much an element is rotated clockwise around z-axis. To rotate an element around x-axis or y-axis or in other ways, this must be defined.
Values for rotate property can be given as one angle, axis name + angle, or three values + angle.
- If an angle is given, the element is rotated clockwise around z-axis.
- If axis name + angle is given, the element is rotated clockwise around that given axis.
- If three values are given + angle, the three values define a vector which the element is rotated around.
To better understand the rotate property,
view a demo.
Note: An alternative technique to rotate an element is to use CSS transform property with CSS rotate() function. The CSS rotate property, as explained on this webpage, is arguably a simpler and more direct way to scale an element.
| Default value: | none |
|---|---|
| Inherited: | no |
| Animatable: | yes. Read about animatable Try it |
| Version: | CSS3 |
| JavaScript syntax: | object.style.rotate="-120deg" Try it |
Browser Support
The numbers in the table specify the first browser version that fully supports the property.
| Property | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| rotate | 104 | 104 | 72 | 14.1 | 90 |
CSS Syntax
rotate: axis angle|initial|inherit;
Property Values
| Property Value | Description | Demo |
|---|---|---|
| axis | Optional. If not set, z-axis is default. Defines axis to rotate element around. Possible values:
|
Demo ❯ |
| angle | Defines how much an element is rotated. Possible units:
|
Demo ❯ |
| vector angle | Three numbers define a vector for the element to be rotated around. The numbers are x-, y- and z-coordinates for the vector, respectively. The last value is the angle for how much to rotate. Possible values:
|
Demo ❯ |
| initial | Sets this property to its default value. Read about initial | |
| inherit | Inherits this property from its parent element. Read about inherit |
More Examples
Example
When rotate property is set with vector and angle, the element is rotated around that vector. Here, the vector is [1 1 0] in 2D plane with x- and y-coordinates, and then rotated 60 degrees:
div {
rotate: 1 1 0 60deg;
}
Try it Yourself »
Related Pages
CSS tutorial: CSS 2D Transforms
CSS tutorial: CSS 3D Transforms
CSS scale property: CSS Scale property
CSS translate property: CSS Translate property