CSS ellipse() Function

The ellipse() function is a CSS basic shape value that's part of the CSS Shapes module.

Basic shapes such as ellipse() can be used as a value for properties such as shape-outside to control the flow of content around the element, and clip-path to clip the element's contents to the basic shape.

This means you can do things like, have text flowing around the element in the shape of an ellipse, have an image clipped to the shape of an ellipse, etc.

Basic Example

Here's an example of how the ellipse() function works with the shape-outside property:

View Output

Here we have a div floated to the left. And because I've applied shape-outside: ellipse() to it, the subsequent text flows around the (invisible) ellipse that I specified.

It's easier to visualize this concept by looking at the following example.

View Output

As you can see, the ellipse is drawn within the floated box. The floated box actually protrudes out from the ellipse, into the surrounding text. But because we've applied shape-outside: ellipse(), the text is allowed to flow right up to the edges of the ellipse. The extent to which it does this depends on any arguments that you pass to the ellipse() function.

This example doesn't use any arguments to specify the ellipse's radii. Therefore, it uses the default value, which is closest-side closest-side (ellipses use two values here).

How to Specify the Ellipse's Radii

You can specify the radii of the ellipse by providing two arguments to the ellipse() function. The arguments specify the x-axis and y-axis radii of the ellipse, in that order.

As mentioned, closest-side is the default value for both radii. So it's the equivalent as doing this:

Using closest-side means that the radius will be based on the length from the center of the shape to the closest side of the reference box (in the radius dimension).

You can also specify farthest-side. In this case, the ellipse will base the radius on the length from the center of the shape to the farthest side of the reference box (in the radius dimension).

You can also use length values (such as px, em, vw, etc) and percentage values to specify the ellipse's radii.

Here's an example of using a percentage value.

View Output

How to Position the Ellipse

You can specify a position for the ellipse by following the radii arguments with a valid CSS position. This position specifies the ellipse's center. Just separate the radius and the position with at. Like this:

The center of this ellipse is 10 pixels from the left and 150 pixels from the top.

Here's a working example:

View Output

Position can be represented as a length value, a percentage value, or a combination of the left, center, right, top, and bottom keywords.

Using ellipse() with clip-path()

Here's an example of using the CSS ellipse() function with the clip-path property.

View Output

If your browser supports the clip-path property (and the ellipse() function), the above image should appear in the shape of an ellipse. Otherwise it will appear as a normal rectangle shape.

Here's another example, this time with some arguments that change the ellipse's radii and position:

View Output

At the time of writing, browser support for the clip-path property is limited. None of the major browsers support it, however, webkit browsers have partial support using the -webkit- prefix.

Official Syntax

The official syntax of the ellipse() function is as follows:

And the syntax of <shape-radius> is:

The default value is closest-side.

The syntax for <position> is:

Possible Values

The following values can be used to specify the ellipse's radii:

shape-radius
This can be specified in either of the following ways:
length
Specifies a length value to use (e.g. px, em, vw, etc) for the radius.
percentage
Specifies a percentage value to use. The percentage value uses the width and height of the reference box.
closest-side

This is the default value.

Specifies that the ellipse's radius will use the length from the center of the shape to the closest side of the box that uses the ellipse() function (this is the closest side in the radius dimension).

farthest-side

Specifies that the ellipse's radius will use the length from the center of the shape to the farthest side of the reference box (the farthest side in the radius dimension).

position

The position argument defines the center of the circle. It is specified as a value from the top, left corner of the reference box using the values listed above (under Official Syntax).

CSS Specifications

Browser Support

The following table provided by Caniuse.com shows the level of browser support for this feature.