Why Do Floated Elements Extend Beyond Their Parent Container?

Why Floating Elements Extend Beyond Containing Div

Within a div, when elements are given a float, they can extend beyond the boundaries of the div. This occurs because floating elements are removed from the normal flow of the document, causing them to position around other elements instead of adjacent to them. As a result, they do not contribute to the width of the containing div.

Solutions to Stretch Floated Items

1. Overflow:hidden

An easy solution is to add overflow:hidden to the parent div. This forces everything that overflows the parent's boundaries to be hidden:

#parent { overflow: hidden }

2. Floating Parent Div

Another option is to also float the parent div:

#parent { float: left; width: 100% }

This makes the parent div behave like a floating element, allowing the floated child elements to influence its height.

3. Clear Element

Utilizing a clear element can also resolve the issue:

<div class="parent">
  <img class="floated_child" src="..." />
  <span class="clear"></span>
</div>

span.clear { clear: left; display: block; }

The clear element breaks the flow of the floated child element, pushing it to the bottom of the parent div.

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