jQuery .nextAll() Method

What You’ll Learn

The .nextAll() traversing method collects every following sibling after each matched element, optionally filtered by a selector. This tutorial covers the official list-item and div demos, filtered paragraph selection, comparisons with .next() and .prevAll(), and the classic .nextAll().addBack() pattern.

Introduction

When one step forward is not enough — you need every sibling that comes after the current element — reach for .nextAll(). List items below a cutoff, divs after the first box, or wizard steps still ahead all fit this pattern.

Available since jQuery 1.2, .nextAll([selector]) constructs a new jQuery object from all following siblings of each element in the current set. It stays on the same level of the DOM tree — siblings only, not children or ancestors — and optionally filters results with a selector expression.

Understanding the .nextAll() Method

Given a jQuery object representing a set of DOM elements, .nextAll() walks forward through each element’s sibling list. Every element sibling that appears after the current node is included in the result. When you pass a selector, only matching siblings among those ahead are kept.

This is broader than .next(), which stops at the immediate neighbor, and directional — unlike .siblings(), which can return both preceding and following siblings. Pair .nextAll() with .addBack() when you need the starting element plus everything after it — the pattern behind the official jQuery .addBack() documentation demo.

📝 Syntax

General form of .nextAll:

.nextAll( [ selector ] )

Parameters

• selector (optional) — a string containing a selector expression. Only following siblings that match this selector are included in the result.

Return value

• A new jQuery object containing all following siblings of each element in the current set (filtered when a selector is provided).

Official jQuery API list example

$( "li.third-item" ).nextAll().css( "background-color", "red" );

// Red background on list items 4 and 5 — all siblings after item 3

Examples Gallery

Examples 1–3 follow the official jQuery API documentation. Use DevTools or the Try-it links to run each snippet in the browser.

$( "li.third-item" ).nextAll().css( "background-color", "red" );

list items 4 and 5 → red background

Items 1, 2, 3 → unchanged

$( "div" ).first().nextAll().addClass( "after" );

First div → unchanged

All following div siblings → .after class (red border in demo)

$( ":nth-child(1)" ).nextAll( "p" ).addClass( "after" );

Following p elements after first child → .after class

Intervening div siblings → skipped by "p" filter

$( "#next-demo li.third-item" ).next().css( "color", "red" );

$( "#nextall-demo li.third-item" ).nextAll().css( "color", "blue" );



// .next() → item 4 | .nextAll() → items 4 and 5

.next() → red on item 4 only

.nextAll() → blue on items 4 and 5

$( "li.third-item" ).nextAll().addBack()

  .css( "background-color", "red" );

Items 3, 4, and 5 → red background

Items 1 and 2 → unchanged

🚀 Common Use Cases

• Hide remaining steps — $(".step.current").nextAll(".step").hide().
• Disable trailing form fields — after a cutoff input, gray out all following inputs in the same group.
• Strip trailing table rows — remove or style every row after a selected anchor row.
• Tag all siblings after the first — official pattern: $("div").first().nextAll().addClass("after").
• Filter by type ahead — $(":nth-child(1)").nextAll("p") for paragraphs only among mixed siblings.
• Range highlight with addBack — .nextAll().addBack() for starting item plus tail.

📝 Notes

• Available since jQuery 1.2 — optional selector argument filters following siblings.
• Returns all following siblings — not the immediate neighbor only (that is .next()).
• Does not include the starting element — use .addBack() to merge it back in.
• Text nodes and comments between elements are skipped — element siblings only.
• Pushes onto jQuery’s internal stack — pair with .end() to restore the previous set.
• Empty result when no following siblings exist — safe to chain without errors.

💡 Best Practices