Array#find

arr.find { |element| block } -> obj or nil

.find iterates through an array or enumerable and returns the first element for which the block evaluates to truthy. If no element matches, it returns nil. This method is essential for searching collections when you need the actual element rather than its index or position.

Syntax

array.find { |element| block } -> obj or nil

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
block	Proc	Required	A block that receives each element and returns truthy for matching elements

Examples

Basic usage

numbers = [1, 3, 5, 7, 9]

numbers.find { |n| n > 4 }
# => 5

numbers.find { |n| n > 10 }
# => nil

Finding a hash in an array

users = [
  { name: "Alice", age: 30 },
  { name: "Bob", age: 25 },
  { name: "Charlie", age: 35 }
]

users.find { |user| user[:age] > 28 }
# => { name: "Alice", age: 30 }

Using with strings

words = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "date"]

words.find { |word| word.start_with?("b") }
# => "banana"

words.find { |word| word.length > 10 }
# => nil

Common Patterns

Finding by attribute

products = [
  { id: 1, name: "Widget", price: 100 },
  { id: 2, name: "Gadget", price: 50 },
  { id: 3, name: "Gizmo", price: 75 }
]

# Find product by ID
products.find { |p| p[:id] == 2 }
# => { id: 2, name: "Gadget", price: 50 }

Safe navigation with find

results = []

found = results.find { |x| x > 5 }
# Returns nil safely, no error

# Common pattern: use || with default value
found = results.find { |x| x > 5 } || "no match"
# => "no match"

Chaining with other enumerable methods

numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

# First even number
numbers.select(&:even?).find { |n| n > 5 }
# => 6

See Also

• Array#detect
• Array#inject
• Array#reduce