MATCH Function in Excel

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In this blog post we will learn to about MATCH function in excel.

We can use MATCH function to find relative position of a provided item in a cell range. For example, we have listed name of few countries in one column, and we want to find out the relative position of specific country in that cell range then we can do so by using MATCH function.

Where to find MATCH function on Excel Screen:

MATCH function can be found under “Lookup & Reference” function category under “Formulas” tab and under “Function Library” group as shown in below image:


Once we click on “Lookup & Reference” function category, we can see list of various Lookup & Reference functions available in excel. MATCH function is highlighted in blue in below image.



Once we click on MATCH option as highlighted above, we will get the function argument dialog box as shown in below image:



Syntax of MATCH Function:

The Syntax of MATCH function is as below:

=MATCH(lookup_value, lookup_array, [match_type])


Arguments of MATCH Function:

MATCH function takes below argument.

lookup_value: In this argument we have to provide a value for which we want to find our relative position in a cell range.

lookup_array: In this argument we have to provide a cell range which contains possible lookup values

[match_type]: There are 03 match types available in this argument 1, 0 and -1. We can select any one based on our requirement.

1 (Less Than): This option is to be selected if and only if the values in lookup_array are arranged in ascending order. It will find the largest value which is less than or equal to provided lookup value.

0 (Exact Match): This option is to be selected if and only if the values in lookup_array are arranged in any manner. It will find the first value from a cell range which is exactly matching with the lookup_value.

-1 (Greater Than): This option is to be selected if and only if the values in lookup_array are arranged in descending order. It will find smallest value which is greater than or equal to provided lookup value.

Example of MATCH Function:

Let’s learn to use MATCH function with the below example. We have listed names of few countries in a single column. If we have to find out relative position of a any specific country in that column, then we can use MATCH function.


Now, we will enter the name of country in cell “E3”. We can either type the name of specific country manually or we can also create drop down list for this activity. Here, in our case we have created drop down list to select country instead of typing their name each time. This will also help us to avoid typo errors.



Select any value from the drop-down list. We have selected India as shown in below image.



Now select a cell where we want to apply MATCH function.



Apply MATCH function in selected cell as shown in below image.



Once we press enter button on our keyboard then we can see the relative position of selected country in array. As India is listed at 1st place, the output is showing as 1.



If we change the name of country in cell “E3”, the output in cell “E5” will change accordingly.

In this way we can use MATCH function in excel.
Microsoft Certified Excel Expert, Enthusiastic to teach excel tricks and basic excel concepts which will help to save time and efforts in our daily office work.

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