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Remove List Items

Removing items from a list is a common operation in Python. Because lists are mutable, Python provides multiple ways to remove elements by value, by index, or completely.

This topic covers all correct ways to remove list items, including edge cases and best practices.

Remove Item Using `remove()`

The remove() method removes the first occurrence of a specified value.

python

fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
fruits.remove("banana")
print(fruits)

python

numbers = [1, 2, 3, 2]
numbers.remove(2)
print(numbers)

Important Note

If the value does not exist, Python raises an error.

python

# fruits.remove("mango")  # ValueError

Remove Item Using `pop()`

The pop() method removes an item by index and returns it.

Remove Last Item

python

fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
item = fruits.pop()
print(item)
print(fruits)

Remove Item at Specific Index

python

fruits = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
fruits.pop(1)
print(fruits)

Remove Item Using `del`

The del keyword removes an item by index or deletes the entire list.

Delete Item at Index

python

numbers = [10, 20, 30]
del numbers[1]
print(numbers)

Delete a Slice

python

numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
del numbers[1:4]
print(numbers)

Delete Entire List

python

numbers = [1, 2, 3]
del numbers

Remove All Items Using `clear()`

The clear() method removes all elements from the list.

python

numbers = [1, 2, 3]
numbers.clear()
print(numbers)

Remove Items Using a Loop

Remove All Occurrences of a Value

python

numbers = [1, 2, 3, 2, 2]

while 2 in numbers:
    numbers.remove(2)

print(numbers)

Remove Using List Comprehension

python

numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
numbers = [x for x in numbers if x % 2 != 0]
print(numbers)

Remove Items Conditionally

python

numbers = [10, 20, 30, 40]

numbers = [x for x in numbers if x != 20]
print(numbers)

Common Mistakes

Modifying List While Iterating

python

nums = [1, 2, 3, 4]

for n in nums:
    if n % 2 == 0:
        nums.remove(n)

print(nums)

This produces unexpected results.

Safe Way to Remove While Iterating

python

nums = [1, 2, 3, 4]
nums = [n for n in nums if n % 2 != 0]
print(nums)

Difference Between `remove()`, `pop()`, and `del`

Method	Removes by	Returns value	Raises error
`remove()`	Value	No	If value not found
`pop()`	Index	Yes	If index invalid
`del`	Index / Slice	No	If index invalid
`clear()`	All items	No	No

Summary

remove() deletes by value
pop() deletes by index and returns item
del deletes by index, slice, or entire list
clear() empties the list
Use list comprehension for conditional removal
Avoid modifying list while iterating