max()
max(..., na.rm = FALSE, na.last = TRUE, type = c("ordinary", "ordered"))
Returns:
numeric · Updated March 13, 2026 · Base Functions statistics max base
max() returns the maximum value of its arguments. It is among the most frequently used functions for exploratory data analysis and statistical summaries.
Syntax
max(..., na.rm = FALSE, na.last = TRUE, type = c("ordinary", "ordered"))Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
... | numeric | — | One or more vectors, or atomic values. Multiple arguments are combined element-wise. |
na.rm | logical | FALSE | If TRUE, NA values are removed before computing the result. |
na.last | logical | TRUE | For na.rm = FALSE, controls where NA is placed in the output. |
type | character | "ordinary" | Either "ordinary" for standard comparison, or "ordered" for ordered factors. |
Examples
Basic usage
x <- c(3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6)
max(x)
# [1] 9Multiple arguments
max(1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
# [1] 5
max(c(1, 2), c(3, 4), 5)
# [1] 5Handling missing values
y <- c(1, 2, NA, 4, 5)
max(y)
# [1] NA
max(y, na.rm = TRUE)
# [1] 5With different data types
# Character vectors (uses alphabetical order)
chars <- c("apple", "banana", "cherry")
max(chars)
# [1] "cherry"
# Logical vectors (TRUE = 1, FALSE = 0)
max(c(TRUE, FALSE, TRUE, FALSE))
# [1] 1Common Patterns
Finding the range of a vector
data <- c(3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6)
range_val <- range(data)
range_val
# [1] 1 9
max(data) - min(data)
# [1] 8Identifying which element is max
scores <- c(85, 92, 78, 91, 88)
which.max(scores)
# [1] 2
# Get the actual value
scores[which.max(scores)]
# [1] 92Normalizing by scaling to 0-1
values <- c(10, 20, 30, 40, 50)
scaled <- (values - min(values)) / (max(values) - min(values))
scaled
# [1] 0.00 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00