The effects of the three different methods to remove an element from a list:
remove removes the first matching value, not a specific index:
>>> a = [0, 2, 3, 2]
>>> a.remove(2)
>>> a
[0, 3, 2]
del removes the item at a specific index:
>>> a = [9, 8, 7, 6]
>>> del a[1]
>>> a
[9, 7, 6]
and pop removes the item at a specific index and returns it.
>>> a = [4, 3, 5]
>>> a.pop(1)
3
>>> a
[4, 5]
Their error modes are different too:
>>> a = [4, 5, 6]
>>> a.remove(7)
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
ValueError: list.remove(x): x not in list
>>> del a[7]
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
IndexError: list assignment index out of range
>>> a.pop(7)
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
IndexError: pop index out of range
GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › python › what-is-difference-between-del-remove-and-pop-on-python-lists
Difference Between Del, Remove and Pop in Python Lists - GeeksforGeeks
July 23, 2025 - remove() method deletes values or objects from the list using value and del and pop() deletes values or objects from the list using an index. del is a Python Keyword that is used to delete items from a list by index or to remove the entire list.
Top answer 1 of 15
1695
The effects of the three different methods to remove an element from a list:
remove removes the first matching value, not a specific index:
>>> a = [0, 2, 3, 2]
>>> a.remove(2)
>>> a
[0, 3, 2]
del removes the item at a specific index:
>>> a = [9, 8, 7, 6]
>>> del a[1]
>>> a
[9, 7, 6]
and pop removes the item at a specific index and returns it.
>>> a = [4, 3, 5]
>>> a.pop(1)
3
>>> a
[4, 5]
Their error modes are different too:
>>> a = [4, 5, 6]
>>> a.remove(7)
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
ValueError: list.remove(x): x not in list
>>> del a[7]
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
IndexError: list assignment index out of range
>>> a.pop(7)
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
IndexError: pop index out of range
2 of 15
286
Use del to remove an element by index, pop() to remove it by index if you need the returned value, and remove() to delete an element by value. The last requires searching the list, and raises ValueError if no such value occurs in the list.
When deleting index i from a list of n elements, the computational complexities of these methods are
del O(n - i)
pop O(n - i)
remove O(n)
del or remove to delete an item from a list
There is a practical difference between the two in general, in that list.remove gets rid of the first item that matches, scanning from left to right. If the list is very long, that can be quite expensive. The del syntax deletes the item at just a known index, and is very fast, although in this specific case the call to list.index in the author's version means that they both have the same practical effect. Generally though the del syntax can be replaced with list.pop which is much nicer to look at. There's a small argument to be made for del being slightly more general (it would work on any mutable collection that supports indexing), but it's not encountered very often in the wild. More on reddit.com
9
1
May 24, 2018Difference between del and remove? - Post.Byes
Re: Difference between del and remove? "Yansky" More on post.bytes.com
What is the difference between __del__, __delete__, and __delitem__? Also, when should we use these? Purpose?
All of these are "dunder" or "magic" methods. These should only be used when you are writing your own class and you want your class to respond if someone uses del your_class_instance. If your class defines __del__, then it is called when the del keyword is used right before the class instance is removed from memory. This can be useful if you need to do some cleanup. >>> class MyClass: ... def __del__(self): ... print "closing any open files ..." ... >>> my_instance = MyClass() >>> del my_instance closing any open files .. If your class defines __delitem__, then your users can use the expression del my_instance[index]. This is usually done when you make a class that acts like a dictionary, and you define __setitem__ and __getitem__ as well. >>> class MyClass: ... def __delitem__(self, item): ... print "User wants item {} deleted".format(item) ... >>> my_instance = MyClass() >>> del my_instance[3] User wants item 3 deleted If your class defines __delete__ then your users can call del my_instance.attribute for abstract base classes. (There is a whole new world of possibilities with ABCs that I don't really understand). if the attribute is a descriptor. >>> class MyAttribute(object): ... def __delete__(self, instance): ... print "User wants to delete MyAttribute" ... >>> class MyClass(object): ... attribute = MyAttribute() ... >>> my_instance = MyClass() >>> del my_instance.attribute User wants to delete MyAttribute More on reddit.com
18
17
June 5, 2016Difference between pop and remove
Also, pop returns that value that was removed, remove doesn’t. More on reddit.com
10
3
June 29, 2022Videos
00:39
Difference between remove, del, pop in Python #shorts #Python ...
06:15
Python: Remove Items from List | 3 ways - pop, del, remove - YouTube
02:20
Difference between del, remove, and pop on lists - YouTube
del vs remove vs pop in Python Which One Should You Use ...
00:48
Difference between del, remove, and pop on Python lists 🐍 #shorts ...
Top answer 1 of 2
3
It depends on the context.
If you only know what the element is and not it's index, you should user .remove().
If you only know the index on the other hand and not what the element is, you should use del.
Usually, you don't know both, but if you know both the index and what the element's value, I'd still use .remove(), since to me it makes more since. But, if there is a chance that there's two elements that contain the same value, you should probably use del instead (because .remove() removes the first element with the value).
I hope you understand. :)
Good luck! ~Alex
2 of 2
5
It might have already been explained elsewhere, but the simple difference between del and .remove() is that del removes one specific thing in one specific place, and .remove() will just automatically remove the first instance of that thing.
For example, I can say del grocery_list[3] and it will automatically delete the 4th thing in my grocery list (remember: lists begin counting at 0). Even if the third and fourth thing on my grocery list are the same, the fourth one will get deleted, because I specified exactly where in my list I wanted something to be deleted.
If I had used grocery_list.remove('carrots'), it would automatically remove the first instance of 'carrots' from my grocery list. Even if the third and fourth items are both called 'carrots,' the third item will get deleted, because it's the first appearance of that item in my list.
If you know what your list looks like, and you know which index you want to delete, the del keyword is preferred. If you just want to remove something from your list, and you don't know where it is. Use .remove() instead. Basically, del works by specifying an item's location with an index, and .remove() works by passing in an argument (e.g. string, int, float, etc.).
TutorialsPoint
tutorialspoint.com › article › difference-between-del-and-remove-on-lists-in-python
Difference Between Del and Remove() on Lists in Python?
September 15, 2022 - After del fruits[0]: ['banana', 'orange', 'banana'] After remove('banana'): ['orange', 'banana'] Use del for index-based deletion and when you need to remove multiple elements or entire lists.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/learnpython › del or remove to delete an item from a list
r/learnpython on Reddit: del or remove to delete an item from a list
May 24, 2018 -
Hi, I'm currently learning Python using, among others, automatetheboringstuff.com
It's a great resource, and I enjoy hacking through the projects.
I am now finishing Chapter 8 (https://automatetheboringstuff.com/chapter8/), and I'm doing the first project, "Create the Quiz File and Shuffle the Question Order".
In that project, at one point, we need to remove an item from a list. Said item's value is stored in a variable. I decided to use the .remove command, like this:
my_list = ['cat', 'dog', 'duck', 'rabbit'] item_to_be_removed = 'dog' my_list.remove(item_to_be_removed)
But the author uses instead the "del" command, such as:
del my_list[my_list.index(item_to_be_removed)]
My question: is there a difference ? It seems much easier to use the first method. I understand that "del" will delete an item using it's index number, and "remove" will remove the first instance of the value we want to delete. But in the context of the project, I don't see why del was chosen.
(Both "del" and ".remove" were explained in previous chapters of the book)
Codecademy
codecademy.com › forum_questions › 5392c30c8c1ccc9774000539
What's the difference between del and .remove() ? | Codecademy
.remove(defined value) - will look at the index and remove the first instance of a defined value del - by comparison will look at the index and delete a specific value defined by it’s position in the index
Sololearn
sololearn.com › en › Discuss › 3307594 › what-is-the-difference-between-del-and-remove-on-lists
What is the difference between del and remove() on lists?
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Sentry
sentry.io › sentry answers › python › removing items from python lists: `del` vs `pop` vs `remove`
Removing items from Python lists: `del` vs `pop` vs `remove` | Sentry
2 weeks ago - While these three methods remove an item from a list, they all work differently. The del method is useful when deleting an item at a specific position in the list. For example: mylist = ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd'] del mylist[2] # will delete the item ...
Naukri
naukri.com › code360 › library › what-is-the-difference-between-del-pop-and-remove-in-python
What is the Difference Between del, pop and remove in ...
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Stack Abuse
stackabuse.com › bytes › difference-between-del-remove-and-pop-in-python-lists
Difference Between del, remove, and pop in Python Lists
September 2, 2023 - In this Byte, we'll explore how to use del and remove to modify lists, along with examples of each. The del statement in Python is a way to remove elements from a list based on their index. Unlike remove and pop, del is not a method of the list class, but a Python keyword.
Codemia
codemia.io › knowledge-hub › path › difference_between_del_remove_and_pop_on_lists_in_python
Difference between del, remove, and pop on lists in Python
Enhance your system design skills with over 120 practice problems, detailed solutions, and hands-on exercises
TechGeekBuzz
techgeekbuzz.com › blog › difference-between-del-remove-and-pop-on-python-lists
Difference Between Del, Remove, Clear and Pop on Python Lists
This tutorial will walk you through the difference between del, remove, clear, and pop on Python lists with appropriate examples. In Python, we have different techniques, such as del , remove , clear , and pop , to remove or delete elements from the list. Though the purpose of all three techniques is the same, they behave differently.
Vaia
vaia.com › all textbooks › computer science › starting out with python › chapter 7 › problem 15
What is the difference between calling a list's remove method ...
The main difference between the ... is that 'remove' works by searching for the specified value in the list and removing the first occurrence of that value, while 'del' works by specifying the index of the element to be removed from the list...
Post.Byes
post.bytes.com › home › forum › topic › python
Difference between del and remove? - Post.Byes
Re: Difference between del and remove? "Yansky" <thegooddale@gm ail.comwrote in message news:eb0cc538-c1bc-470d-a863-afd15ccafedb@e2 5g2000prg.googl egroups.com... | Got a quick n00b question. What's the difference between del and | remove? Python has a del statement but not a remove statement.
Quora
quora.com › In-Python-whats-the-difference-between-pop-del-and-remove-on-lists
In Python, what's the difference between pop, del and remove on lists? - Quora
Answer (1 of 8): The remove operation on a list is given a value to remove. It searches the list to find an item with that value and deletes the first matching item it finds. It is an error if there is no matching item. 5. Data Structures The del statement can be used to delete an entire list. I...
Educative
educative.io › answers › what-is-difference-between-del-remove-and-pop-on-python-lists
What is difference between del, remove and pop on Python lists?
Lists are a basic data structure in Python that allows us to store and modify collections of things. The del, remove, and pop methods are used to change and manipulate lists, although they have distinct purposes and behave differently.
STechies
stechies.com › difference-between-del-remove-pop-lists
Difference between del, remove and pop Methods in Python
Python Remove is a method which takes an element as an argument and removes it from a defined list. The del() method can delete an item with the help of index but does not return any value.
Sololearn
sololearn.com › en › Discuss › 2023899 › what-is-the-difference-between-del-and-remove-methods-of-list
What is the difference between del() and remove() methods of list? | Sololearn: Learn to code for FREE!
To remove all the 2's from the list you need to run a loop. del() removes the item at a specific index. It is helpful for deleting all elements or a slice. Example : myList = [4, 3, 3, 2] del myList[1] print(myList) This gives the output as ...
Quora
clcoding.quora.com › What-is-the-difference-between-remove-function-and-del-statement
What is the difference between remove() function and del statement? - Python Coding - Quora
Answer (1 of 2): The [code ]remove()[/code] function and the [code ]del[/code] statement are both used to remove elements from a list in Python, but they work in slightly different ways. The [code ]remove()[/code] function is a method of a list that takes an element as an argument and removes th...
Studytonight
studytonight.com › python-howtos › difference-between-del-remove-and-pop-on-lists
Difference between del, remove and pop on lists - Studytonight
February 2, 2021 - It can remove the element from a specific index, can remove the entire list, and can also perform list slicing. The index is passed as an argument to del. It returns IndexError if the specified index is not present. ... It will return an error if you try to print the deleted list. ... This also allows avoidance of an IndexError if the index is not in the list. ... Python list has a function remove() to remove the elements of a given list.