How to Use LARGE Function in Excel (2 Examples)

In Excel, the LARGE function is categorized as a statistical function. It can be applied to the earlier versions of Excel upto Excel 2000. Generally, Excel LARGE function is used to find the highest value in a business analysis portfolio. In this article, you will learn how to use the LARGE function in Excel with some easy examples.

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LARGE Function in Excel: Syntax and Arguments

2 Suitable Examples of LARGE Function in Excel

Example 1: Applying LARGE Function to Find Places

Example 2: Combining LARGE and SUMPRODUCT Functions to Calculate the Summation of Top Values

Conclusion

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You can download the workbook used for the demonstration from the download link below.

LARGE Function.xlsx

LARGE Function in Excel: Syntax and Arguments

Summary:

The LARGE function in Microsoft Excel returns the nth largest value from a data range. For example, it can be said that the LARGE function in Excel provides the nth largest position in a contest like the highest, 1st runner up, 2nd runner up, etc.

Syntax:

=LARGE(array, nth_position)

Arguments:

The syntax has two arguments. Here, both of them are required arguments or parameters. The parameters are mentioned below.

Argument	Required/Optional	Explanation
array	Required	array is a data range or array from which you want to return the nth largest value.
nth_position	Required	nth_position is the position from the largest value to return.

💡 Notes:

If your array is empty, the LARGE function returns the #NUM! error value.
The LARGE function returns the #NUM! error value, if your provided nth_position is larger than the total number of values in the array or data range.

2 Suitable Examples of LARGE Function in Excel

Go through the latter section to be able to use the LARGE function. You will be able to learn how to use LARGE function in Excel. Moreover, we will show you two different scenarios to better understand the use of the LARGE function in Excel.

Example 1: Applying LARGE Function to Find Places

For example, we have taken some random numbers to use the Excel LARGE function. For the purpose of demonstration, we have used the following steps.

Steps:

Firstly, select a cell outside the data.
Then, write the following formula to get the largest value. It will be in the first place.

=LARGE(B5:B13, 1)

Next, change the nth position of the formula accordingly in order to find the 2nd, 3rd, 4th or other largest values.

Finally, you will get the #NUM! error value if your array is empty.

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Example 2: Combining LARGE and SUMPRODUCT Functions to Calculate the Summation of Top Values

For example, we have taken the scores of a student for various subjects. We will find three large values through the LARGE function similarly. Then, we will find the sum of those three large values directly by using the SUMPRODUCT function in Excel. For this reason, we have used the following dataset as a sample.

Steps:

Firstly, click on a cell where you want to get the largest value.
Secondly, enter the following formula.

=LARGE(C5:C10, 1)

Thirdly, change the value of K in the formula to 2 and 3 to get the 2nd and 3rd largest value.

After that, enter the below formula in another cell to get the sum of the first three largest values.

=SUMPRODUCT(LARGE(C5:C10, {1,2,3}))

Finally, you will get the sum of the top 3 values in the following image.

Read More: SUMPRODUCT() function in Excel

Conclusion

These are all the steps you can follow in Excel to use LARGE Function in Excel. Hopefully, you can now easily create the needed adjustments. I sincerely hope you learned something and enjoyed this guide. Please let us know in the comments section below if you have any queries or recommendations.

For more information like this, visit ExcelDemy.com.