What ≻ means
A ≻ B means A ranks above or is preferred to B. The ordering defines what “above” means; it may compare choices rather than numbers.
What history is documented?
The straight < and > signs appear in print in 1631. That is an early landmark for comparison notation.
Don't confuse it with
1Questions people ask
1Why does ≻ show as a box on some devices?
Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.
How to type ≻
Windows (Word)
Alt+XType 227B, then Alt+X to get ≻.
Windows
Win+Rrun charmap for the full table, or use the emoji picker's Ω symbols tab (Win + .).
macOS
Control+Command+SpaceOpen the character viewer and search “succeeds”.
Linux
Ctrl+Shift+UType 227b, then Enter or Space.
HTML
≻CSS
\227BLaTeX
In math mode, use \succ: $A \succ B$.
Microsoft Word
Type 227B, then press Alt+X. As of 2026, Math AutoCorrect also accepts \succ.
Codes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
≻
HTML hex
≻
CSS content
content: "\227B";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%E2%89%BB
1
On screen
1
Code points
1
JS .length
3
UTF-8 bytes
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.