jQuery .prevUntil() Method

What Is .prevUntil()?

.prevUntil() (since jQuery 1.4) gets all preceding siblings up to but not including a stop (selector, DOM node, or jQuery object). An optional filter keeps matching siblings only.

// Previous siblings until a dt (stop excluded)
$("#term-2").prevUntil("dt");

// Stop at a DOM node; keep only dd (since 1.6)
$("#term-3").prevUntil(document.getElementById("term-1"), "dd");

// No stop → same as .prevAll()
$("#term-2").prevUntil();

How to Use .prevUntil()

Start from an element, walk backward, stop before the fence.

1. Select the starting element(s).
2. Call .prevUntil(stop) — selector (1.4) or Element/jQuery (1.6).
3. Optional: second argument filters collected siblings.
4. Remember: the stop is excluded; order is nearest first.
5. If stop is missing/unmatched, you get all previous siblings.

Pseudocode

result = empty jQuery object

for each matched element:
    sibling = immediate previous element sibling
    while sibling exists:
        if sibling matches stop:
            break   // stop excluded
        if no filter OR sibling matches filter:
            append sibling to result   // nearest first
        sibling = previous element sibling of sibling

return result

Cheat Sheet

Keep these facts handy while ranging previous siblings.

Live Preview

From term 2 / term 3, collect previous siblings until a stop.

Ready — pick an action and click Run.

jQuery Examples

Short, copy-ready snippets. Prefer text markers so demos stay CSS-free.

$("#term-2").prevUntil("dt").prepend("[until] ");
// marks definition 1-b and 1-a; term 1 is not marked

term 1
[until] definition 1-a
[until] definition 1-b
term 2
…

$("#term-3").prevUntil("#term-1", "dd").prepend("[dd] ");
// until term 1; keep dd only — skips term 2

…definition 1-* and 2-* get [dd]
term 2 is walked past but not kept (not a dd)

var term1 = document.getElementById("term-1");
$("#term-3").prevUntil(term1, "dd").prepend("[node] ");
// same range as selector stop, with a live Element

dd siblings between term 3 and term 1 get [node]

var a = $("#term-2").prevUntil().map(function () {
  return this.tagName;
}).get().join(", ");

var b = $("#term-2").prevAll().map(function () {
  return this.tagName;
}).get().join(", ");

$("#out").text("until: " + a + " | all: " + b);
// same tag list

until: DD, DD, DT | all: DD, DD, DT
(same siblings)

var until = $("#term-2").prevUntil("dt").map(function () {
  return $(this).text();
}).get().join(" | ");

var all = $("#term-2").prevAll().map(function () {
  return $(this).text();
}).get().join(" | ");

$("#out").text("until: " + until + " || all: " + all);

until: definition 1-b | definition 1-a
all: definition 1-b | definition 1-a | term 1

Performance Notes

A stop bounds the walk. Prefer .prevUntil() over .prevAll() when you only need siblings before a known fence.

Key Takeaways