$nin

Syntax: { field: { $nin: [ <value1>, <value2> ... <valueN> ]} }

$nin selects the documents where:

• the field value is not in the specified array or
• the field does not exist.

Consider the following query:

db.inventory.find( { qty: { $nin: [ 5, 15 ] } } )

This query will select all documents in the inventory collection where the qty field value does not equal 5 nor 15. The selected documents will include those documents that do not contain the qty field.

If the field holds an array, then the $nin operator selects the documents whose field holds an array with no element equal to a value in the specified array (e.g. <value1>, <value2>, etc.).

Consider the following query:

db.inventory.update( { tags: { $nin: [ "appliances", "school" ] } }, { $set: { sale: false } } )

This update() operation will set the sale field value in the inventory collection where the tags field holds an array with no elements matching an element in the array ["appliances", "school"] or where a document does not contain the tags field.