Minimum Interval to Include Each Query

Problem

Given a list of intervals and a list of query points, for each query return the size of the smallest interval that contains it; return -1 for a query that no interval contains.

Examples

Example 1

Input:intervals = [[1,4],[2,4],[3,6],[4,4]], queries = [2,3,4,5]

Output:[3,3,1,4]

Constraints

1 <= intervals.length <= 1.5 * 10^5

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How to approach it: the Intervals pattern

Problems about ranges — meeting times, event schedules, ranges on a number line — almost always start with sorting the intervals by start (or end) time, then sweeping through them once.

Look for this pattern when

The problem talks about meetings, bookings, ranges, or scheduling.
You need to merge overlapping ranges, find gaps, or count how many overlap at once.

Read the full Intervals guide →

Video walkthroughs

Original problem on LeetCode ↗