Ruby | Enumerable first() function

Last Updated : 12 Jul, 2025
The first() of enumerable is an inbuilt method in Ruby returns the first N elements or the first element of the enumerable. If there is no first element, it returns nil. If there are less than N elements, then it returns all the elements.
Syntax: enu.first(N) Parameters: The function takes N which signifies the first N elements which is to be returned. If N is not given, then it assumes N = 1. Return Value: It returns the first or first N elements.
Example 1: ruby 
# Ruby program for first method in Enumerable

# Initialize 
enu = (1..10)

# Prints
enu.first(6)
Output: 
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
Example 2: ruby 
# Ruby program for first method in Enumerable

# Initialize 
enu = [1, 7, 10, 11]

# Prints
enu.first
Output: 
1
Example 3: javascript 
# Ruby program for first method in Enumerable

# Initialize 
enu = [1, 7, 10, 11]

# Prints
enu.first(10)
Output: 
[1, 7, 10, 11]
Comment

Explore