Beginner

178. IN Operator

Learn how IN checks whether a value matches any value in a specified list.

📘 Lesson 178 of 728 ⏱ 8 min 🎯 Beginner

The IN operator checks whether an expression matches one of the values provided in a list or returned by a subquery.

IN makes multiple equality conditions easier to write and read.

Find employees working in IT, Finance, or HR.

SQL 
SELECT
    EmployeeName,
    Department
FROM Employees
WHERE Department IN ('IT', 'Finance', 'HR');

IN is commonly used for department filters, customer categories, product groups, status values, and business selections.

  • IN checks membership in a list.
  • It can replace multiple OR conditions.
  • It can be used with text and numeric values.
  • IN can work with subqueries.
  • NOT IN excludes listed values.
What does IN do in SQL?

IN checks whether a value matches any value in a specified list or subquery result.

Why use IN instead of multiple OR conditions?

IN usually makes multiple equality conditions shorter and easier to read.

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