JavaScript - shift array elements

In this article, we would like to show you how to shift array elements in JavaScript.

Quick solution:

// ONLINE-RUNNER:browser;

const letters = ['A', 'B', 'C', 'D'];
letters.shift();   // removes 'A' from letters array

console.log(letters);

Practical example

The shift() method removes the first element from an array and returns that removed element, so you can use it later.

// ONLINE-RUNNER:browser;

const letters = ['A', 'B', 'C', 'D'];
const shifted = letters.shift();  // shifts 'A' from letters array to shifted const

console.log(letters);  // B,C,D
console.log(shifted);  // A

Output:

B,C,D
A