null

null is a special value that represents the intentional absence of any value. You assign it yourself to explicitly say "this variable has no value on purpose."

let selectedUser = null;
console.log(selectedUser); // null

null is one of JavaScript's primitive values, but oddly, typeof null returns "object" — a long-standing bug baked into the language from its earliest days. It can never be fixed without breaking huge amounts of existing code, so it's best to just memorize it as a quirk.

console.log(typeof null); // "object"

Use null when you want to clearly signal that a value is absent by design — for example, resetting a variable, or representing "no selection yet." This makes your intent much clearer to future readers than simply leaving something unassigned.

typeof null returns the string ____, which is a well-known quirk since null is not actually an object.

What does null represent?

typeof null correctly returns the string 'null'.