Container With Most Water
You are given an integer array height of length n.
There are n vertical lines drawn such that the two endpoints of the ith line are (i, 0) and (i, height[i]).
Find two lines that, together with the x-axis, form a container that can hold the maximum amount of water.
Return the maximum amount of water a container can store.
You may not slant the container.
Example 1
Input
9 1 8 6 2 5 4 8 3 7
Output
49
Explanation
The maximum area is formed by the lines with heights 8 and 7.
Width = 8 - 1 = 7
Height = min(8, 7) = 7
Area = 7 × 7 = 49.
Example 2
Input
2 1 1
Output
1
Explanation
Only one container can be formed.
Width = 1
Height = min(1, 1) = 1
Area = 1.
Constraints
Hints:
Hint 1
The area is determined by the shorter of the two lines and the distance between them.
Hint 2
Start with two pointers at both ends. Compute the current area and move the pointer pointing to the shorter line inward, since moving the taller line cannot increase the area while the shorter line remains the limiting factor.
Author & Technical Reviewer
Technically reviewed by: ExamAdda Technical Review Team
Technical Reviewers, ExamAdda
Software engineers at ExamAdda who check every article's definitions, complexity claims and code examples before and after publishing.
Published
Aug 5, 2026
Last updated
Aug 6, 2026
Content Verification Methodology
Definitions and complexity claims were checked against authoritative computer-science references. Code examples were compiled and tested with standard, boundary and edge-case inputs.
Expected Output