---
title: 3.24 Operator Precedence
description: "Operator precedence determines the order in which operators are grouped when an expression contains multiple operators. Operators with higher precedence are grouped before operators with lower precedence. ``` #include int main() { int result; result = 10 + 5 *…"
url: "https://edcret.in/docs/c-programming/operators-and-expressions/3-24-operator-precedence/"
updated: "2026-09-07"
category: C Programming / Operators and Expressions
---

# 3.24 Operator Precedence

Operator precedence determines the order in which operators are grouped when an expression contains multiple operators. Operators with higher precedence are grouped before operators with lower precedence.

```
#include <stdio.h>

int main()
{
    int result;

    result = 10 + 5 * 2;

    printf("result = %d\n", result);

    return 0;
}
```

### Example Output

```
result = 20
```

### Explanation

The expression:

```
10 + 5 * 2
```

contains `+` and `*`. Multiplication has higher precedence than addition, so it is grouped first:

```
10 + (5 * 2)
```

The result is therefore `20`.

Parentheses have higher precedence than the operators inside the expression and can be used to explicitly change the grouping:

```
result = (10 + 5) * 2;
```

This produces `30`.

### Operator Precedence Table

The following table lists the commonly used C operators from **higher precedence to lower precedence**.

| Precedence | Operators | Description | Associativity |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | `()` `[]` `.` `->` | Function call, array subscript, member access | Left-to-right |
| 2 | `++` `--` `+` `-` `!` `~` `sizeof` `(type)` | Unary operators, `sizeof`, cast | Right-to-left |
| 3 | `*` `/` `%` | Multiplication, division, remainder | Left-to-right |
| 4 | `+` `-` | Addition, subtraction | Left-to-right |
| 5 | `<<` `>>` | Bitwise shifts | Left-to-right |
| 6 | `<` `<=` `>` `>=` | Relational operators | Left-to-right |
| 7 | `==` `!=` | Equality operators | Left-to-right |
| 8 | `&` | Bitwise AND | Left-to-right |
| 9 | `^` | Bitwise XOR | Left-to-right |
| 10 | `\|` | Bitwise OR | Left-to-right |
| 11 | `&&` | Logical AND | Left-to-right |
| 12 | `\|\|` | Logical OR | Left-to-right |
| 13 | `?:` | Conditional operator | Right-to-left |
| 14 | `=` `+=` `-=` `*=` `/=` `%=` `<<=` `>>=` `&=` `^=` `\|=` | Assignment operators | Right-to-left |
| 15 | `,` | Comma operator | Left-to-right |

**Precedence determines grouping; associativity determines grouping when operators have the same precedence.**