Window: clearTimeout() method

{{APIRef("HTML DOM")}}

The clearTimeout() method of the {{domxref("Window")}} interface cancels a timeout previously established by calling {{domxref("Window.setTimeout()")}}.

If the parameter provided does not identify a previously established action, this method does nothing.

Syntax

clearTimeout(timeoutID)

Parameters

• timeoutID
  • : The identifier of the timeout you want to cancel. This ID was returned by the corresponding call to setTimeout().

It's worth noting that the pool of IDs used by {{domxref("Window.setTimeout", "setTimeout()")}} and {{domxref("Window.setInterval", "setInterval()")}} are shared, which means you can technically use clearTimeout() and {{domxref("Window.clearInterval", "clearInterval()")}} interchangeably. However, for clarity, you should avoid doing so.

Return value

None ({{jsxref("undefined")}}).

Examples

Run the script below in the context of a web page and click on the page once. You'll see a message popping up in a second. If you click the page multiple times in one second, the alert only appears once.

const alarm = {
  remind(message) {
    alert(message);
    this.timeoutID = undefined;
  },

  setup() {
    if (typeof this.timeoutID === "number") {
      this.cancel();
    }

    this.timeoutID = setTimeout(
      (msg) => {
        this.remind(msg);
      },
      1000,
      "Wake up!",
    );
  },

  cancel() {
    clearTimeout(this.timeoutID);
  },
};
window.addEventListener("click", () => alarm.setup());

Notes

Passing an invalid ID to clearTimeout() silently does nothing; no exception is thrown.

Specifications

{{Specifications}}

Browser compatibility

{{Compat}}

See also

• {{domxref("Window.setTimeout()")}}
• {{domxref("WorkerGlobalScope.clearTimeout()")}}
• {{domxref("Window.clearInterval()")}}
• {{domxref("Window.cancelAnimationFrame()")}}