jQuery :gt() Selector — Index Greater Than

What Is the :gt() Selector?

:gt(index) (since jQuery 1.0) selects elements whose zero-based index in the matched set is greater than index. Negative indices (from the end) are supported since 1.8.

$("td:gt(4)");              // indices 5, 6, 7, 8 …
$("li:gt(0)");              // skip the first item
$("td:gt(-2)");             // last cell (since 1.8)

// Preferred today (jQuery 3.4+):
$("td").slice(5);           // same as :gt(4)

How to Use :gt()

Build a matched set first, then keep only items after a given index — or migrate to .slice().

1. Select a set ($("td"), $("li"), …).
2. Choose a zero-based cut-off index (strictly greater than).
3. Legacy: append :gt(index) · Modern: call .slice(index + 1).
4. For counting from the end (1.8+), use a negative index or .slice(-n).
5. Style or act on the filtered set.

Pseudocode

set = $(precedingSelector)   // indices 0 … length-1

call set.filter(":gt(index)")
  // or set.slice(index + 1)

for each element at position i in set:
    if i > index:
        include it

return the filtered jQuery set

Cheat Sheet

Keep these facts handy while filtering by index.

Live Preview

Highlight table cells with :gt() or the modern .slice() equivalent.

Ready — click Run to filter cells.

jQuery Examples

Short, copy-ready snippets. Open DevTools, or use Try It Yourself for a live editor.

$("td:gt(4)").css("backgroundColor", "yellow");
$("td:gt(-2)").css("color", "red");

TD #5–#8 → yellow background
TD #8 → red text (also matched by :gt(-2))

$("td").slice(5).css("backgroundColor", "yellow");
// Same matches as $("td:gt(4)")

TD #5–#8 yellow — identical to :gt(4)
slice start = gt index + 1

$("ul.features li:gt(0)").css("opacity", "0.6");
// Modern: $("ul.features li").slice(1)

First li stays full opacity
Items at indices 1, 2, 3 fade to 0.6

$("#output").text(
  ":gt(2) → " + $("td:gt(2)").length + " cells\n" +
  ":eq(2) → " + $("td:eq(2)").length + " cell"
);
$("td:eq(2)").css("outline", "3px solid #2563eb");
$("td:gt(2)").css("backgroundColor", "#fef9c3");

:gt(2) → 6 cells (indices 3–8)
:eq(2) → 1 cell (index 2 only)

$("td:gt(-2)").css({ fontWeight: "bold", color: "red" });
$("#log").text("Matched: " + $("td:gt(-2)").map(function () {
  return $(this).text();
}).get().join(", "));
// Modern: $("td").slice(-1)

Matched: TD #8
Last cell bold + red

Edge Cases & Pitfalls

Performance Notes

Because :gt() is a jQuery extension, the engine cannot hand the whole query to the browser. Select with CSS, then .slice(), for the fastest path.

Key Takeaways