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TakeLargestBy
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TakeLargestBy

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TakeLargestBy[data,f,n]

gives the n elements ei in data for which f[ei] is largest, sorted in descending order.

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TakeLargestBy[dataprop,f,n]

gives the property prop for the n elements in data for which f[ei] is largest.

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TakeLargestBy[data,f,n,p]

uses the ordering function p for sorting.

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represents an operator form of TakeLargestBy that can be applied to an expression.

Details and Options

  • TakeLargestBy gives the elements ei in the first level of the input data corresponding to the largest f[ei] values.
  • By default, TakeLargestBy uses NumericalOrder to sort f[ei] values that are numeric expressions, Quantity objects and DateObject expressions. For other types of objects, TakeLargestBy sorts the f[ei] values by canonical Order.
  • In TakeLargestBy[data,…], the data can have the following forms:
  • {e1,e2,…}list of values, including numbers, quantities, dates, ...
    Association[…]association of values »
    QuantityArray[…]quantity array or other structured array
    Tabular[…]type-consistent tabular data »
    TabularColumn[…]type-consistent column data »
    Dataset[…]general hierarchical data »
  • TakeLargestBy[assoc,f,n] gives an association of length n by taking the values in assoc that are largest according to f, preserving their keys.
  • For tabular data tab, TakeLargestBy[tab,f,…] applies the function f to individual rows of tab, with the row being an association <|col1val1,…|> if tab has column keys or a list {val1,…} if tab does not have column keys.
  • In TakeLargestBy[dataprop,f,n], possible forms for prop include:
  • "Element"gives each element itself »
    "Index"gives the index for each element »
    "Value"gives the value f[x] for each element x »
    {prop1,prop2,…}a list of multiple forms »
    Allgives an association with element, index and f value »
  • TakeLargestBy[data,f,UpTo[n]] takes n elements, or as many as are available. »
  • TakeLargestBy[f,n][data] is equivalent to TakeLargestBy[data,f,n].
  • TakeLargestBy has option ExcludedForms. With the default setting ExcludedForms->Automatic, TakeLargestBy excludes from its final results elements for which f[ei] is None, Null or Indeterminate or has head Missing. »
  • The setting ExcludedForms->{patt1,patt2,…} specifies that expressions for which f[ei] matches any of the patti should be excluded from results generated by TakeLargestBy. »

Examples

open allclose all

Basic Examples  (5)Summary of the most common use cases

Give the four numbers farthest from zero:

In[10]:=10
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-quxmyv
Out[10]=10

Take the two longest strings in a list:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-xh63mx
Out[1]=1

Do the same using the operator form of TakeLargestBy:

In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-cvc29l
Out[2]=2
In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-l7nlaj
Out[3]=3

Take the three largest Quantity lengths according to their distance to :

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-6t1czq
Out[1]=1

Take the three DateObject expressions with the largest day of the month:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-4s19fq
Out[1]=1
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-vm67dt
Out[2]=2

Take the two longest strings in an association:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-jgfph4
Out[1]=1

Scope  (8)Survey of the scope of standard use cases

Give the four numbers farthest from zero, or as many as are available if fewer:

In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-ws9yis
Out[2]=2

The discovery date value for some planets is missing:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-il3p2i
Out[1]=1
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-oh3twu
Out[2]=2

By default, Missing[] and several other symbolic expressions are excluded if returned by the selection function:

In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-j5oflm
Out[3]=3

Get the two largest elements by magnitude in a list:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-henpdc
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-5yfcey
Out[2]=2

Get the positions of the two largest elements by magnitude in a list:

In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-cr2dko
Out[3]=3

Get the two largest magnitudes in a list:

In[4]:=4
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-if590k
Out[4]=4

Get the two largest elements by magnitude in a list along with their positions:

In[5]:=5
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-i70n6a
Out[5]=5

Get the two largest elements by magnitude in a list with their positions given first:

In[6]:=6
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-dw04qo
Out[6]=6

Get associations containing the element, position and Abs value of the two largest elements by magnitude in a list:

In[7]:=7
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-21mfoi
Out[7]=7

Take a few English words:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-gd1pkd

They can be translated to Spanish with WordTranslation, which gives a list of possibilities:

In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-ufmytu
In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-z63mfq
Out[3]=3

These are the largest two words according to canonical order:

In[4]:=4
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-6zdtb7
Out[4]=4

These are the largest two English words according to canonical order of their Spanish translations:

In[5]:=5
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-4utuab
Out[5]=5

Use properties to show simultaneously the English word and its translation to Spanish:

In[6]:=6
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-gkizxz
Out[6]=6

Construct a TabularColumn object with 100 words:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-ss77bg
Out[1]=1

Select the five longest words:

In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-ije4w6
Out[2]=2

Normalize the result to a list:

In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-5kepgn
Out[3]=3

Find the four rows in a Tabular object with largest values in a given column:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-f1trbx
Out[1]=1
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-y5poc
Out[2]=2

Use general functional notation instead of the column name:

In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-2shaqt
Out[3]=3
In[4]:=4
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-r1yvkm
Out[4]=4

Take a dataset of the solar system planets:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-2sxsoh
Out[1]=1

Find the three planets with the largest number of moons:

In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-3981jc
Out[2]=2

Take a list of integer 3-vectors:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-pyk5yx
Out[1]=1

These are their norms:

In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-uzhb9e
Out[2]=2

Select the three vectors with largest norms, by default sorting numerically those norms:

In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-9chmoz
Out[3]=3

Sorting the norms by canonical order can give a different result:

In[4]:=4
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-266zb3
Out[4]=4

Options  (2)Common values & functionality for each option

ExcludedForms  (2)

Take the list of all planets in the solar system:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-o9kj4i
Out[1]=1

Find the four planets that are currently farthest from your location, with a limit of 15 au in distance:

In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-o1c69u
Out[2]=2

Plot the evolution of the distances during a two-year period centered at the current moment:

In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-ejty5f
In[4]:=4
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-bb1ah6
Out[4]=4

Take an association:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-gg93zh
Out[1]=1

Not all these keys have values in the association:

In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-wkaz6w
In[3]:=3
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-wna32b
Out[3]=3

Find the keys corresponding to the two largest values in the association:

In[4]:=4
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-bonkqh
Out[4]=4

By default, some symbolic objects like Missing[] or None are excluded as results of the selection function, so the previous result is equivalent to this:

In[5]:=5
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-9kqzz5
Out[5]=5

Specify that no value should be excluded:

In[6]:=6
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-rjnsp0
Out[6]=6

Specify that only values with Missing head should be excluded:

In[7]:=7
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-fy7rmm
Out[7]=7

Applications  (6)Sample problems that can be solved with this function

Find the eight capitals of continental US states that are farthest from Kansas City:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-et8buy
Out[1]=1
In[2]:=2
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-66q9wg
Out[2]=2

Find the five most recent James Bond movies:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-l5oypm
Out[1]=1

Find the 10 countries with the longest names:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-fcthyl
Out[1]=1

From the BRICS group of countries, give the country that is farthest from your location:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-wfok81
Out[1]=1

Find the four US states with the largest number of neighboring states, and show them:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-f0nqbi
Out[1]=1

Find the five constellations with largest number of bright stars, showing how many each one has:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-y9s8ve
Out[1]=1

Properties & Relations  (3)Properties of the function, and connections to other functions

TakeLargestBy[list,f,n,p] is effectively equivalent to Part[list,TakeLargest[Map[f,list]"Index",n,p]]:

In[1]:=1
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https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-iezsol
In[2]:=2
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-dsovx7
Out[2]=2
In[3]:=3
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-s7dcf5
Out[3]=3

TakeLargestBy[{e1,e2,…},f,n] compares values f[ei] using NumericalOrder by default:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-gih291
In[2]:=2
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-dfljwn
Out[2]=2
In[3]:=3
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-82pmav
Out[3]=3

MaximalBy[{e1,e2,…},f,n] compares values f[ei] using canonical Order by default:

In[4]:=4
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-d1gqp2
Out[4]=4
In[5]:=5
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-trdyiu
Out[5]=5

Both TakeLargestBy and MaximalBy take an ordering function as fourth argument, which makes them effectively equivalent:

In[6]:=6
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-0ihvu1
Out[6]=6
In[7]:=7
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-mgg1cj
Out[7]=7

When there are common values of f[ei] for different elements ei in TakeLargestBy[{e1,e2,…},f,n], the original order will be kept:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-eie171
Out[1]=1
In[2]:=2
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-7xt8dc
Out[2]=2
In[3]:=3
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-3qjjjv
Out[3]=3

Possible Issues  (2)Common pitfalls and unexpected behavior

If fewer than the requested number of elements are present, TakeLargestBy will not evaluate:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-wv21bw
Out[1]=1

Use UpTo to get as many elements as possible:

In[2]:=2
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-pu5pzo
Out[2]=2

If the f[ei] are not comparable, TakeLargestBy will not evaluate:

In[1]:=1
✖
https://wolfram.com/xid/0jz9yhkzlcgzwt-wkg1mn
Out[1]=1
Wolfram Research (2015), TakeLargestBy, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TakeLargestBy.html (updated 2025).
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Wolfram Research (2015), TakeLargestBy, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TakeLargestBy.html (updated 2025).

Text

Wolfram Research (2015), TakeLargestBy, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TakeLargestBy.html (updated 2025).

✖
Wolfram Research (2015), TakeLargestBy, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TakeLargestBy.html (updated 2025).

CMS

Wolfram Language. 2015. "TakeLargestBy." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2025. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TakeLargestBy.html.

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Wolfram Language. 2015. "TakeLargestBy." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2025. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TakeLargestBy.html.

APA

Wolfram Language. (2015). TakeLargestBy. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TakeLargestBy.html

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Wolfram Language. (2015). TakeLargestBy. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TakeLargestBy.html

BibTeX

@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_takelargestby, author="Wolfram Research", title="{TakeLargestBy}", year="2025", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TakeLargestBy.html}", note=[Accessed: 21-June-2025 ]}

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@misc{reference.wolfram_2025_takelargestby, author="Wolfram Research", title="{TakeLargestBy}", year="2025", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TakeLargestBy.html}", note=[Accessed: 21-June-2025 ]}

BibLaTeX

@online{reference.wolfram_2025_takelargestby, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={TakeLargestBy}, year={2025}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TakeLargestBy.html}, note=[Accessed: 21-June-2025 ]}

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@online{reference.wolfram_2025_takelargestby, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={TakeLargestBy}, year={2025}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/TakeLargestBy.html}, note=[Accessed: 21-June-2025 ]}