shape-outside: ellipse(40% 50% at left);
shape-outside: ellipse(closest-side farthest-side at 30%);

An ellipse is essentially a squashed circle and so ellipse() acts in a very similar way to circle() except that we have to specify two radii x and y.

<shape-radius>

Two radii, x and y in that order. These may be a <length>, or a <percentage> or values closest-side and farthest-side.

closest-side

Uses the length from the center of the shape to the closest side of the reference box. For ellipses, this is the closest side in the radius dimension.

farthest-side

Uses the length from the center of the shape to the farthest side of the reference box. For ellipses, this is the farthest side in the radius dimension.

<position>

Moves the center of the ellipse. May be a <length>, or a <percentage>, or a values such as left. The <position> value defaults to center if omitted.

This example shows an ellipse with an x radius of 40%, a y radius of 50% and the position being left. This means that the center of the ellipse is on the left edge of the box giving us a half ellipse shape to wrap our text around. You can change these values to see how the ellipse changes.

The keyword values of closest-side and farthest-side are useful to create a quick ellipse based on the size of the floated element reference box.

• Properties that use this data type: clip-path, shape-outside
• Guide to Basic Shapes