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$ in JavaScript

Last Updated : 05 Aug, 2025
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In JavaScript, a dollar ($) sign is not considered a built-in operator or a special symbol. The dollar sign ( $ ) is just another character that can be used in variable names. It is just like any other letter that can be used as the first or subsequent character in a variable name.

Table of Content

Using $ as an Identifier

The dollar ($) sign in JavaScript can be used as an identifier which means it can be used to simply identify an object in the same way that a variable or name does. It can be used to identify any variable, function, object, property, or event.

Syntax:

function $(selector) {
    return document.getElementById(selector);
}

Example: The below code implements the $ sign as the name of a function in JavaScript that selects elements.

HTML 
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <title>Using $ as Identifier</title>
</head>

<body>
    <div style="text-align: center;">
        <h1 style="color: green;">
            GeeksforGeeks
        </h1>
        <h2 id="output">
            Change the text of this element by <br/> 
            clicking the below button.
        </h2><br/>
        <button id="btn">
            Change Text
        </button>
    </div>
    <script>
        function $(selector) {
            return document.getElementById(selector);
        }
        $('btn').addEventListener('click', ()=>{
            $('output').innerHTML = `Hey Geek, <br/>
            Welcome to GeeksforGeeks!!`
        })
    </script>
</body>

</html>

Output:

$GIF

Using $ in Template literals

The dollar ($) sign is also used in template literals. This method was introduced recently in the ECMAScript 2015 (also known as ES6 or ECMAScript 6) for a convenient way of string interpolation and multiline strings in JavaScript. The template literals are delimited using backticks (``), instead of single or double quotes. This method allows us to directly use an expression inside a string using placeholders, denoted by - ${expression}

Example: The below code explains the use of dollar ($) sign to access the values of variables in template literals.

JavaScript 
const name = 'GeeksforGeeks';
const desc = "A Computer Science Portal.";

console.log(`Company name: ${name}, Description: ${desc}`);

Output
Company name: GeeksforGeeks, Description: A Computer Science Portal.

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