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# element

The query’s single matching element.

```
var element: XCUIElement { get }
```

## Discussion

Use the [`element`](/documentation/XCUIAutomation/XCUIElementQuery/element) property to access a query’s result when you expect a single matching element for the query, but want to check for multiple ambiguous matches before accessing the result. The [`element`](/documentation/XCUIAutomation/XCUIElementQuery/element) property traverses your app’s accessibility tree to check for multiple matching elements before returning, and fails the current test if there isn’t a single matching element.

In cases where you know categorically that there’s a single matching element, use the [`XCUIElementTypeQueryProvider`](/documentation/XCUIAutomation/XCUIElementTypeQueryProvider) [`firstMatch`](/documentation/XCUIAutomation/XCUIElementTypeQueryProvider/firstMatch) property instead. The [`firstMatch`](/documentation/XCUIAutomation/XCUIElementTypeQueryProvider/firstMatch) property stops traversing your app’s accessibility hierarchy as soon as it finds a matching element, speeding up element query resolution.

## See Also

[`firstMatch`](/documentation/XCUIAutomation/XCUIElementTypeQueryProvider/firstMatch)

The first element that matches the query.


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