My answer is not exactly to your question but after you read this, I hope you can decide which type you need to choose for your needs.

Python’s lists are variable-length arrays, not Lisp-style linked lists. The implementation uses a contiguous array of references to other objects, and keeps a pointer to this array.

This makes indexing a list a[i] an operation whose cost is independent of the size of the list or the value of the index.

When items are appended or inserted, the array of references is resized. Some algorithm is applied to improve the performance of appending items repeatedly; when the array must be grown, some extra space is allocated so the next few times don’t require an actual resize i.e over-allocation. More Information

Removing vs Pop vs Delete:

At first glance it looks like all of them are doing the same thing.

Under the hood its behaving different.

removing : remove an element from the list by iterating from 0 index till the first match of the element is found. taking more time to iterate if the element is at the end.

pop : removing element from the list by using the index. taking less time.

del : is a python statement that removes a name from a namespace, or an item from a dictionary, or an item from a list by using the index.

REMOVE:

  • it removes the first occurence of value.
  • raises ValueError if the value is not present.
  • it takes only one argument, so you can't remove multiple value in one shot.

POP:

  • remove and return item at index (default last).
  • Raises IndexError if list is empty or index is out of range.
  • it takes only one argument, so you can't remove multiple value in one shot.

DEL:

  • remove the item at index and return nothing.
  • it can remove slices from a list or can clear the whole list.

Benchmark:

Worst case : deleting from the end of the list.

yopy:-> python -m timeit "x=range(1000)" "x.pop(999)"
100000 loops, best of 3: 10 usec per loop
yopy:-> python -m timeit "x=range(1000)" "x.remove(999)"
10000 loops, best of 3: 31.3 usec per loop
yopy:-> python -m timeit "x=range(1000)" "del x[999]"
100000 loops, best of 3: 9.86 usec per loop
yopy:->

Best case: begining of the list.

yopy:-> python -m timeit "x=range(1000)" "x.remove(1)"
100000 loops, best of 3: 10.3 usec per loop
yopy:-> python -m timeit "x=range(1000)" "x.pop(1)"
100000 loops, best of 3: 10.4 usec per loop
yopy:-> python -m timeit "x=range(1000)" "del x[1]"
100000 loops, best of 3: 10.4 usec per loop
yopy:->

Point to be noted:

if array grows or shrinks in the middle

  • Realloc still depends on total length.
  • But, All the trailing elements have to be copied

So, now I hope you can decide what you need to choose for your needs.

Answer from James Sapam on Stack Overflow
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Python - Remove List Items
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1 of 4
62

My answer is not exactly to your question but after you read this, I hope you can decide which type you need to choose for your needs.

Python’s lists are variable-length arrays, not Lisp-style linked lists. The implementation uses a contiguous array of references to other objects, and keeps a pointer to this array.

This makes indexing a list a[i] an operation whose cost is independent of the size of the list or the value of the index.

When items are appended or inserted, the array of references is resized. Some algorithm is applied to improve the performance of appending items repeatedly; when the array must be grown, some extra space is allocated so the next few times don’t require an actual resize i.e over-allocation. More Information

Removing vs Pop vs Delete:

At first glance it looks like all of them are doing the same thing.

Under the hood its behaving different.

removing : remove an element from the list by iterating from 0 index till the first match of the element is found. taking more time to iterate if the element is at the end.

pop : removing element from the list by using the index. taking less time.

del : is a python statement that removes a name from a namespace, or an item from a dictionary, or an item from a list by using the index.

REMOVE:

  • it removes the first occurence of value.
  • raises ValueError if the value is not present.
  • it takes only one argument, so you can't remove multiple value in one shot.

POP:

  • remove and return item at index (default last).
  • Raises IndexError if list is empty or index is out of range.
  • it takes only one argument, so you can't remove multiple value in one shot.

DEL:

  • remove the item at index and return nothing.
  • it can remove slices from a list or can clear the whole list.

Benchmark:

Worst case : deleting from the end of the list.

yopy:-> python -m timeit "x=range(1000)" "x.pop(999)"
100000 loops, best of 3: 10 usec per loop
yopy:-> python -m timeit "x=range(1000)" "x.remove(999)"
10000 loops, best of 3: 31.3 usec per loop
yopy:-> python -m timeit "x=range(1000)" "del x[999]"
100000 loops, best of 3: 9.86 usec per loop
yopy:->

Best case: begining of the list.

yopy:-> python -m timeit "x=range(1000)" "x.remove(1)"
100000 loops, best of 3: 10.3 usec per loop
yopy:-> python -m timeit "x=range(1000)" "x.pop(1)"
100000 loops, best of 3: 10.4 usec per loop
yopy:-> python -m timeit "x=range(1000)" "del x[1]"
100000 loops, best of 3: 10.4 usec per loop
yopy:->

Point to be noted:

if array grows or shrinks in the middle

  • Realloc still depends on total length.
  • But, All the trailing elements have to be copied

So, now I hope you can decide what you need to choose for your needs.

2 of 4
39

Use a list comprehension:

Scenario 1:

[item for item in my_list if 1 <= item <=5 ]

Scenario 2:

to_be_removed = {'a', '1', 2}
[item for item in my_list if item not in to_be_removed ]

Scenario 3:

[item for item in my_list if some_condition()]

Scenario 4(Nested list comprehension):

[[item for item in seq if some_condition] for seq in my_list]

Note that if you want to remove just one item then list.remove, list.pop and del are definitely going to be very fast, but using these methods while iterating over the the list can result in unexpected output.

Related: Loop “Forgets” to Remove Some Items

Discussions

Removing a specific element from a list
lst.index(thing) will get you the index of the first occurrence of thing in lst (it will raise an error if it's not in list, so be aware that you have to handle that). lst.pop(index) will remove whatever is at index. If your first list could possibly have duplicates, you'll have to be careful with your current method (though it's still pretty close). Also note, you don't need is in, just in More on reddit.com
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January 23, 2021
python - Is there a simple way to delete a list element by value? - Stack Overflow
I guess the code bellow is also the way to remove items from objects list. In the other hand, 'del' has not worked properly either. In my case, using python 3.6: when I try to delete an element from a list in a 'for' bucle with 'del' command, python changes the index in the process and bucle ... More on stackoverflow.com
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How do I remove an element from the end of a list without returning the value? (Python)
Can't you just ignore the returning value...? More on reddit.com
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April 30, 2021
How to delete all the items (in a list) beautifully?
How to delete all the items (in a list) beautifully · Hello! I want to know how to delete all the items (in a list) beautifully? For example: list = [2, 3, 4] Can I just do it in this way? list = [] Or del list[2], del list[1], del list[0] Thank you for your time · For the record list.clear() ... More on discuss.python.org
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February 10, 2024
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How to Remove an Element from a List in Python - StrataScratch
October 3, 2025 - In order for your solution to be accepted, your solution should be located on the last line of the editor and match the expected output data type listed in the question. ... This solution first sums the number of messages per guest, then ranks them using the dense method to avoid gaps in rank values. It uses no element removal method, but involves column reordering via .pop() and .insert(). In Python, removing items from a list is a fundamental yet crucial skill.
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GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › python › remove-item-from-list-in-python
How to Remove Item from a List in Python - GeeksforGeeks
The list is modified in place. A slice can be used with del to remove multiple elements from a list.
Published: July 15, 2025
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ReqBin
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How do I remove an element from a list in Python?
December 22, 2022 - To remove a specific item from a Python list, you can use the list.remove() method. If more than one element in the list matches the specified value, only the first occurrence of that element will be removed.
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Programiz
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Python List remove() (with Code Visualization)
Online Python Online JavaScript Online SQL Online Java Online HTML Online C Online C++ Online C# Online PHP Online Swift Online Kotlin Online TypeScript Online Go Online Rust Online Scala Online Dart Online R Online Ruby ... The remove() method removes the first matching item from a list.
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SitePoint
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Python - Remove List Items | SitePoint — SitePoint
Here, we first check if the element exists in the list before attempting to remove it. The pop() method removes an element at a specified index and returns its value. ... If no index is provided, it removes and returns the last element.
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Reddit
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r/learnpython on Reddit: Removing a specific element from a list
January 23, 2021 -

I have a function that receives two lists. The goal is for the function to return lst1 without the elements on lst2, however I'm having trouble with that. What can I do?

I do have to say that I cannot use any while or for loop, only recursion (that's the hard part)

def minus(lst1,lst2):
    element = lst2.pop()
    if element is in lst1:
        #how can I find the position of the elements in lst1 that is equal to "element"?
    else:
        if len(lst2) == 0:
            return lst1
        else:
            return minus(lst1,lst2)
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Edureka
edureka.co › blog › python-list-remove
Remove Elements From Lists | Python List remove() Method | Edureka
February 6, 2025 - Also, this is a fast method to remove items from a list.) To summarize, the remove() method removes the first matching value, and not a specified index; the pop() method removes the item at a specified index, and returns it; and finally the del operator just deletes the item at a specified index ( or a range of indices). In Python, you can delete elements from a list using several methods.
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DataCamp
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How to Remove an Item from a List in Python: A Full Guide | DataCamp
August 1, 2024 - In the first case, we can use the remove() function. # Initialize a list with integers from 1 to 5 my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] # Removes element 5 from the list my_list.remove(5) print(my_list) # Expected output: [1, 2, 3, 4]
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How to Remove Element from list in Python?
July 22, 2024 - Q3: How do I remove an item at a specific index using Python? A3: Utilize the del statement, specifying the index of the item you want to remove. Q4: Can I remove multiple occurrences of an item in a list?
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Real Python
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How to Remove Items From Lists in Python – Real Python
October 21, 2025 - Note that Python lists use zero-based indexing for positioning, which means that the first element in a list is at index 0, the second element is at index 1, and so on. With that in mind, here’s an example of how you can use .pop() to remove and display the first element in your books list: ... You invoke the .pop() method on the books list with an index of 0, indicating the first element in the list. This call removes the first title, Dragonsbane, from the list and then returns it.
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YouTube
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Python: Remove Items from List | 3 ways - pop, del, remove - YouTube
There are 3 ways to remove items from a list in Python: pop, del, and remove. This video explains the differences and when to use each method.Code: https://g...
Published: May 11, 2023
Views: 802
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/learnprogramming › how do i remove an element from the end of a list without returning the value? (python)
r/learnprogramming on Reddit: How do I remove an element from the end of a list without returning the value? (Python)
April 30, 2021 -

Hi, so I am writing a class for doing some methods on a list.

I already know how to add an element to the end of a list by using the append() method.

However if I want to remove an element from the end of a list, without returning the value, how would I go about that? I know the pop() method can remove an element from the end of a list but it then returns the value of that element. What kind of method can I include in my class that will remove an element from the end of the list?

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Python.org
discuss.python.org › python help
How to delete all the items (in a list) beautifully? - Python Help - Discussions on Python.org
February 10, 2024 - How to delete all the items (in a list) beautifully · Hello! I want to know how to delete all the items (in a list) beautifully? For example: list = [2, 3, 4] Can I just do it in this way? list = [] Or del list[2], del list[1], del list[0] Thank you for your time · For the record list.clear() ...
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GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › python › python-list-remove
Python List remove() Method - GeeksforGeeks
July 17, 2026 - Explanation: a.remove("banana") removes the first occurrence of "banana" from the list. The original list is updated directly. ... Parameter: element - item to remove from the list.
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Python.org
discuss.python.org › python help
How can I remove all the same objects from a list? - Python Help - Discussions on Python.org
February 1, 2023 - Hi everyone! I’ve learned Python for weeks. And this is my question. How can I remove all the same objects from a list? How to remove all the ‘5’? list1=[1,2,5,4,3,5,5,6,7,8,5,5,5,9] for i in list1: if i==5: list1.remove(5) print(list1) the result is : [1, 2, 4, 3, 6, 7, 8, 5, 5, 9] but there are still two “5”
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/learnpython › trying to remove an element from a list using a variable
r/learnpython on Reddit: Trying to remove an element from a list using a variable
April 22, 2023 -

SOLVED

list1 = [12, 20, 10, 14, 54, 16, 75, 38, 79, 103,105]

chicken = len(list1)

if chicken %2 != 0:

chicken = (chicken / 2) - 0.5

list1.remove(chicken)

print (list1)

Sorry I know my variable names are weird for the time being. one of the assignments is requiring us look at list, remove the middle variable if the length of the list is odd, or remove the middle two elements if the length of the list is even, I started on the odd part first because I thought it would be easier but im running into a problem. I want to remove the middle element of the list, however it isn't as simple as remove the number in the exact spot since this has to work for any odd length of a list, I've been able to write a formula to find the middle number of every odd list but the problem is I don't know how to remove the middle element, logically to me it would make sense that removing the number from the exact point in the list would make sense, but it seems that with the remove function its requiring you to have the specific string in order to remove it. When I run the code it tells me

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "C:/Users/derpd/Downloads/listy.py", line 28, in <module>

list1.remove[chicken]

TypeError: 'builtin_function_or_method' object is not subscriptable

I tried using brackets but that didn't seem to work either, any tips or ideas on how I can remove the middle element, I understand how to get the middle element just not how to remove it

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Educative
educative.io › answers › how-to-delete-an-element-from-a-list-in-python
How to delete an element from a list in Python
For this shot, let’s look at how we can delete a value at a certain index with the del keyword: ... The pop method removes an element at a given index and returns its value. The code below shows an example of this: ... Note: The argument passed ...