Summary

The border-style property is a shorthand property for setting the line style for all four sides of the element´s border.

Note: The default value of border-style is none. This means that if you change the border-width and the border-color, you will not see the border unless you change this property to something other than none or hidden.

Initial valueas each of the properties of the shorthand:
Applies toall elements. It also applies to ::first-letter.
Inheritedno
Mediavisual
Computed valueas each of the properties of the shorthand:
Animatableno
Canonical orderthe unique non-ambiguous order defined by the formal grammar

Syntax

/* Apply to all four sides */
border-style: dashed;

/* horizontal | vertical */
border-style: dotted solid;

/* top | horizontal | bottom */
border-style: hidden double dashed;

/* top | right | bottom | left */
border-style: none solid dotted dashed; 

/* Global values */
border-style: inherit;
border-style: initial;
border-style: unset;

Values

<br-style>
Is a keyword describing the style of the bottom border. It can have the following values:
none
 
Like for the hidden keyword, displays no border. In that case, except if a background image is set, the calculated values of border-width will be 0, even if specified otherwise through the property. In case of table cell and border collapsing, the none value has the lowest priority: it means that if any other conflicting border is set, it will be displayed.
hidden
 
Like for the none keyword, displays no border. In that case, except if a background image is set, the calculated values of border-width will be 0, even if specified otherwise through the property. In case of table cell and border collapsing, the hidden value has the highest priority: it means that if any other conflicting border is set, it won't be displayed.
dotted
 
Displays a series of rounded dots. The spacing of the dots is not defined by the specification and is implementation-specific. The radius of the dots is half the calculated border-width.
dashed
 
Displays a series of short square-ended dashes or line segments. The exact size and length of the segments are not defined by the specification and are implementation-specific.
solid
 
Displays a single, straight, solid line.
double
 
Displays two straight lines that add up to the pixel amount defined as border-width .
groove
 
Displays a border leading to a carved effect. It is the opposite of ridge.
ridge
 
Displays a border with a 3D effect, like if it is coming out of the page. It is the opposite of groove.
inset
 
Displays a border that makes the box appear embedded. It is the opposite of outset. When applied to a table cell with border-collapse set to collapsed, this value behaves like groove.
outset
 

Displays a border that makes the box appear in 3D, embossed. It is the opposite of inset. When applied to a table cell with border-collapse set to collapsed, this value behaves like ridge.

Formal syntax

<br-style>{1,4}

where
<br-style> = none | hidden | dotted | dashed | solid | double | groove | ridge | inset | outset

Examples

Table with all property values

Here is an example of all the property values

HTML Content

<table>
    <tr>
        <td class="b1">none</td>
        <td class="b2">hidden</td>
        <td class="b3">dotted</td>
        <td class="b4">dashed</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td class="b5">solid</td>
        <td class="b6">double</td>
        <td class="b7">groove</td>
        <td class="b8">ridge</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td class="b9">inset</td>
        <td class="b10">outset</td>
    </tr>
</table>

CSS Content

/* Define look of the table */
table {
    border-width: 3px;
    background-color: #52E396;
}
tr, td {
    padding: 2px;
}

/* border-style example classes */
.b1 {border-style:none;}
.b2 {border-style:hidden;}
.b3 {border-style:dotted;}
.b4 {border-style:dashed;}
.b5 {border-style:solid;}
.b6 {border-style:double;}
.b7 {border-style:groove;}
.b8 {border-style:ridge;}
.b9 {border-style:inset;}
.b10 {border-style:outset;}

Output

Specific​ations

Specification Status Comment
CSS Backgrounds and Borders Module Level 3
The definition of 'border-style' in that specification.
Candidate Recommendation No change
CSS Level 2 (Revision 1)
The definition of 'border-style' in that specification.
Recommendation Added the 2-, 3- and 4-value syntaxes
CSS Level 1
The definition of 'border-style' in that specification.
Recommendation Initial definition

Browser compatibility

Feature Chrome Firefox (Gecko) Internet Explorer Opera Safari
Basic support 1.0 1.0 (1.7 or earlier) 4.0 3.5 1.0
Feature Android Firefox Mobile (Gecko) IE Phone Opera Mobile Safari Mobile
Basic support 2.6 1.0 (1.9.2) 7.0 (Yes) 3.0

See also