---
title: "Flex - Glossary | MDN"
chunk: 1/3
source: "https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Flex"
category: "reference"
tags: "web, html, css, javascript, documentation"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T05:31:45.904848+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

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  1. [Glossary](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary)
  2. [Flex](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Flex)

# Flex
`flex` is a value of the CSS [`display`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Properties/display) property. Along with `inline-flex`, it causes the element it applies to become a [flex container](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Flex_Container), and the element's children to each become a [flex item](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Flex_Item). The items then participate in flex layout, and all of the properties defined in the [CSS flexible box layout module](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Guides/Flexible_box_layout) may be applied.
There is also a [`flex`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Properties/flex) property, which is a shorthand for the flexbox properties [`flex-grow`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Properties/flex-grow), [`flex-shrink`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Properties/flex-shrink) and [`flex-basis`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Properties/flex-basis). This property is only applicable to flex containers.
In addition [`<flex>`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Values/flex_value) can refer to a [flexible length](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Values/flex_value) in CSS Grid Layout.
## In this article
  * [Related CSS properties](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Flex#related_css_properties)
  * [See also](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Flex#see_also)

##  [Related CSS properties](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Flex#related_css_properties)
  * [`align-content`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Properties/align-content)
  * [`align-items`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Properties/align-items)
  * [`align-self`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Properties/align-self)
  * [`flex`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Properties/flex)
  * [`flex-basis`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Properties/flex-basis)
  * [`flex-direction`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Properties/flex-direction)
  * [`flex-flow`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Properties/flex-flow)
  * [`flex-grow`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Properties/flex-grow)
  * [`flex-shrink`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Properties/flex-shrink)
  * [`flex-wrap`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Properties/flex-wrap)
  * [`gap`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Properties/gap)
  * [`justify-content`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Properties/justify-content)
  * [`order`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Properties/order)
  * [`place-items`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Properties/place-items)
  * [`place-self`](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Properties/place-self)

##  [See also](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/Flex#see_also)
  * [Basic concepts of flexbox](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Guides/Flexible_box_layout/Basic_concepts)
  * [Relationship of flexbox to other layout methods](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Guides/Flexible_box_layout/Relationship_with_other_layout_methods)
  * [Aligning items in a flex container](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Guides/Flexible_box_layout/Aligning_items)
  * [Ordering flex items](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Guides/Flexible_box_layout/Ordering_items)
  * [Controlling ratios of flex items along the main axis](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Guides/Flexible_box_layout/Controlling_flex_item_ratios)
  * [Mastering wrapping of flex items](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Guides/Flexible_box_layout/Wrapping_items)
  * [Typical use cases of flexbox](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Guides/Flexible_box_layout/Use_cases)