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Python List Methods
Python List remove()
The remove() method removes the first matching element (which is passed as an argument) from the list.
Example
# create a list
prime_numbers = [2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11]
# remove 9 from the list
prime_numbers.remove(9)
# Updated prime_numbers List
print('Updated List: ', prime_numbers)
# Output: Updated List: [2, 3, 5, 7, 11]
Syntax of List remove()
The syntax of the remove() method is:
list.remove(element)
remove() Parameters
- The
remove()method takes a single element as an argument and removes it from the list. - If the
elementdoesn't exist, it throws ValueError: list.remove(x): x not in list exception.
Return Value from remove()
The remove() doesn't return any value (returns None).
Example 1: Remove element from the list
# animals list
animals = ['cat', 'dog', 'rabbit', 'guinea pig']
# 'rabbit' is removed
animals.remove('rabbit')
# Updated animals List
print('Updated animals list: ', animals)
Output
Updated animals list: ['cat', 'dog', 'guinea pig']
Example 2: remove() method on a list having duplicate elements
If a list contains duplicate elements, the remove() method only removes the first matching element.
# animals list
animals = ['cat', 'dog', 'dog', 'guinea pig', 'dog']
# 'dog' is removed
animals.remove('dog')
# Updated animals list
print('Updated animals list: ', animals)
Output
Updated animals list: ['cat', 'dog', 'guinea pig', 'dog']
Here, only the first occurrence of element 'dog' is removed from the list.
Example 3: Deleting element that doesn't exist
# animals list
animals = ['cat', 'dog', 'rabbit', 'guinea pig']
# Deleting 'fish' element
animals.remove('fish')
# Updated animals List
print('Updated animals list: ', animals)
Output
Traceback (most recent call last):
File ".. .. ..", line 5, in <module>
animal.remove('fish')
ValueError: list.remove(x): x not in list
Here, we are getting an error because the animals list doesn't contain 'fish'.
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