Less-Than Sign

August 25, 2025

Click the symbol above to copy

U+003C | Categories: math

If you see '□', please refer to fix missing characters ascii art for a solution.

Technical Information

Unicode:U+003C

HTML Code:<

CSS Code:"\003C"

HTML Entity:<

Creative Star Showcases

3 < 5
if (a < b) { return true; }

Less-Than Sign Content

Less-Than Sign (<)

The Less-Than Sign (<) is a mathematical and programming symbol widely used across various fields. In mathematics, it denotes a value smaller than another (e.g., 3 < 5). In programming languages like C, Java, and Python, it functions as a comparison operator to check relational conditions.

How to Use the Symbol

You can easily copy and paste this character: <

On Windows:

Type it directly using the keyboard (Shift + , key). It is part of the standard ASCII set.

On Mac:

Press Shift + , key to insert the symbol. It is universally supported across fonts and systems.

On Mobile:

Open the numeric/symbol keyboard and tap the < key. Commonly available across all devices.

Technical Information for Developers

The following codes will help developers implement the Less-Than Sign (<) into websites and apps.

HTML Entities:

&lt;

CSS Content Property:

.less-than::before { content: "\003C"; }

Unicode Details:

Unicode: U+003C
Name: Less-Than Sign
Block: Basic Latin, U+0000 - U+007F
Plane: Basic Multilingual Plane, U+0000 - U+FFFF
Script: Code for undetermined script (Zyyy)
Category: Math Symbol (Sm)
Bidirectional Class: Other Neutral (ON)
Combining Class: Not Reordered (0)
Character is Mirrored: Yes, mirrored with > (U+003E)
GCGID: SA030000
PostScript Name: less
Unicode Version: 1.1 (June 1993)

Encoding:

UTF-8 Encoding: 0x3C
UTF-16 Encoding: 0x003C
UTF-32 Encoding: 0x0000003C