How to remove a key from a Python dictionary?

Better Stack Team
Updated on January 26, 2023

To remove a key from a dictionary, you can use the del statement. Here's an example:

 
my_dict = {'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': 3}

del my_dict['b']

print(my_dict)  # Output: {'a': 1, 'c': 3}

Alternatively, you can use the pop() method, which removes the key-value pair from the dictionary and returns the value. If the key is not found in the dictionary, the pop() method will return a default value (e.g., None). Here's an example:

 
my_dict = {'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': 3}

value = my_dict.pop('b', None)

print(value)  # Output: 2
print(my_dict)  # Output: {'a': 1, 'c': 3}

You can also use the pop() method to remove a key-value pair from the dictionary and return the default value if the key is not found, like this:

 
my_dict = {'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': 3}

value = my_dict.pop('b', 'Key not found')

print(value)  # Output: 2
print(my_dict)  # Output: {'a': 1, 'c': 3}
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