You can use the following formula in Google Sheets to find the date in a column that is closest to a particular date:
=INDEX(A2:A15, MATCH(MIN(ABS(A2:A15-$D$1)), ABS(A2:A15-$D$1), 0))
This particular formula finds the date in the range A2:A15 that is closest to the date specified in cell D1.
The following example shows how to use this formula in practice.
Example: How to Find Closest Date in Google Sheets
Suppose we have the following column of dates in Google Sheets:
We can type the following formula into cell D2 to find the date in the range A2:A15 that is closest to 8/2/2023:
=INDEX(A2:A15, MATCH(MIN(ABS(A2:A15-$D$1)), ABS(A2:A15-$D$1), 0))
The following screenshot shows how to use this formula in practice:
The formula returns 8/1/2023, which is the closest date to 8/2/2023.
If we change the date in cell D1, the formula will automatically update to find the new closest date.
For example, suppose we change the date in cell D1 to 5/25/2023:
The formula now returns 5/22/2023, which is the closest date to 5/25/2023.
Additional Resources
The following tutorials explain how to perform other common tasks in Google Sheets:
Google Sheets: Calculate Years Between Two Dates
Google Sheets: Apply Conditional Formatting to Overdue Dates
Google Sheets: How to Show Date as Month Name
