Call dict with no parameters

Copynew_dict = dict()

or simply write

Copynew_dict = {}
Answer from Jan Vorcak on Stack Overflow
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GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › python › initialize-an-empty-dictionary-in-python
Initialize an Empty Dictionary in Python - GeeksforGeeks
July 15, 2025 - Empty dictionary is also created by dict() built-in function without any arguments.
Discussions

Initializer for set, like dict {} and list []
Quite often I find myself using sets, and I cannot initialize them, like you can a dict, list or a tuple. This makes uglier code: a_dictionary = {} a_tuple = () a_list = [] a_set = set() Also set comprehension uses {} as a dict: a_set = {'unique_1', 'unique_2'} I propose that set gets the unique ... More on discuss.python.org
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December 4, 2024
Function to create a dictionary returns empty dictionary when called
Hello! I’m beginner with Python (I’ve completed only 38 % of “Python for Everybody” course), and english isn’t my native tongue (I’ll try to be clear!). I’m trying to code a program to read .txt files of shopping receipts in order to analyze them and draw conclusions. More on forum.freecodecamp.org
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February 14, 2023
Why is it common in python to make an empty list or dict first?
In your case it’s completely useless however many times we run a loop and append to a list or add to a variable counter or many such things. This has to exist before we do so. I mean I thought a lot of list comprehension was supposed to help mitigate this very thing lol. for element in some_list: my_list.append(element*2) Will fail. More on reddit.com
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165
September 19, 2023
Adding Key: Value to Empty Dictionary via For Loop
dictionary keys are "unique" - so you are overwriting the previous entry each time. >>> quotes = {} >>> quotes['author'] = 'quote1' >>> quotes {'author': 'quote1'} >>> quotes['author'] = 'quote2' >>> quotes {'author': 'quote2'} Perhaps you want a list of dicts? [ { 'author': 'quote1' }, { 'author': 'quote2' }, ... ] More on reddit.com
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freeCodeCamp
freecodecamp.org › news › create-a-dictionary-in-python-python-dict-methods
Create a Dictionary in Python – Python Dict Methods
March 14, 2022 - The first way is by using a set of curly braces, {}, and the second way is by using the built-in dict() function. To create an empty dictionary, first create a variable name which will be the name of the dictionary.
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Mimo
mimo.org › glossary › python › dictionary-dict-function
Python Dictionary: Syntax and Examples [Python Tutorial]
You can also create a dictionary using the dict() function and passing key-value pairs as keyword arguments. Using dict() without any arguments creates an empty dictionary.
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FavTutor
favtutor.com › blogs › empty-dictionary-python
Create Empty Dictionary in Python (5 Easy Ways) | FavTutor
April 13, 2022 - If no arguments are provided, an empty dictionary is created. ... In Python, we can use the zip() and len() methods to create an empty dictionary with keys.
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Python documentation
docs.python.org › 3 › tutorial › datastructures.html
5. Data Structures — Python 3.14.6 documentation
Curly braces or the set() function can be used to create sets. Note: to create an empty set you have to use set(), not {}; the latter creates an empty dictionary, a data structure that we discuss in the next section.
Find elsewhere
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OpenStax
openstax.org › books › introduction-python-programming › pages › 10-2-dictionary-creation
10.2 Dictionary creation - Introduction to Python Programming | OpenStax
March 13, 2024 - Create a dictionary object with given key/value pairs. Two methods exist for creating an empty dictionary:
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Quora
quora.com › How-do-I-create-an-empty-dictionary-in-Python
How to create an empty dictionary in Python - Quora
Answer (1 of 13): * In Python to create an empty dictionary, we can assign no elements in curly brackets {}. * We can also create an empty dictionary by using the dict () method it is a built-in function in Python and takes no arguments.
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Google
developers.google.com › google for education › python › python dict and file
Python Dict and File | Python Education | Google for Developers
The "del" operator can remove variables, list elements, or entries from a dictionary. The open() function is used to open files for reading ('r'), writing ('w'), or appending ('a'), with iterating through the file handle being an efficient way to process lines, and .readlines() and .read() methods available for reading the entire content. Python's efficient key/value hash table structure is called a "dict".
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Index.dev
index.dev › blog › initialize-dictionary-with-empty-lists-python
How to Initialize a Dictionary with Empty Lists in Python [with Examples]
Learn how to initialize a dictionary with empty lists in Python. This guide covers practical examples and common use cases for creating and managing dictionaries where each key is associated with an empty list.
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Real Python
realpython.com › python-dicts
Dictionaries in Python – Real Python
April 8, 2026 - The second way is to use the dict() constructor, which lets you create dictionaries from iterables of key-value pairs, other mappings, or a series of keyword arguments. It also lets you create empty dictionaries when you call it without arguments.
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Python.org
discuss.python.org › ideas
Initializer for set, like dict {} and list []
December 4, 2024 - Quite often I find myself using sets, and I cannot initialize them, like you can a dict, list or a tuple. This makes uglier code: a_dictionary = {} a_tuple = () a_list = [] a_set = set() Also set comprehension uses {} as a dict: a_set = {'unique_1', 'unique_2'} I propose that set gets the unique bracket style Code will look like so: a_dictionary = {} a_tuple = () a_list = [] a_set = And for comprehension it would look like so: a_set = And this would make...
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freeCodeCamp
forum.freecodecamp.org › python
Function to create a dictionary returns empty dictionary when called - Python - The freeCodeCamp Forum
February 14, 2023 - Hello! I’m beginner with Python (I’ve completed only 38 % of “Python for Everybody” course), and english isn’t my native tongue (I’ll try to be clear!). I’m trying to code a program to read .txt files of shopping receip…
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/python › why is it common in python to make an empty list or dict first?
r/Python on Reddit: Why is it common in python to make an empty list or dict first?
September 19, 2023 -

Something I've never understood with python is why it is so common for an empty list to be created and then populated with something in a subsequent (or even more common next) line:

my_list = []
my_list = [i for i in range(1, 21)]

Obviously this is a really really toy example, but I'm consistently finding this in "production" code in multiple places. Is it pythonic? It's basically pure duplication so I doubt it. Is it some hacky "optimisation"? Is it a side effect of the code priorly being a for loop, then turned to a list comprehension but not tidied up right?

I honestly just feel ike I'm missing something key, with the amount of times and variety of places I see this pattern.

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Esri Community
community.esri.com › t5 › python-questions › appending-data-to-an-empty-dictionary › td-p › 567277
Solved: Appending data to an empty dictionary - Esri Community
December 12, 2021 - I am unfortunately still using ArcGIS for Desktop and thus do not have access to python 3.6. ... I did. While it does create a dictionary and populates it with a value, the NAME field value becomes the key and the value portion is empty.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/learnpython › adding key: value to empty dictionary via for loop
r/learnpython on Reddit: Adding Key: Value to Empty Dictionary via For Loop
December 3, 2022 -

Over the years I've collected a lot of quotes and I am trying to write a script to parse them out into a dictionary so I can use them in another script.

The quotes are always in this format:

> [!quote] Quote by [[Robert Greene]]
> Cultivate a fearless approach to life, attack everything with boldness and energy.

So I've created this script to get them and add them to a dictionary:

import re

quote_list = {}

with open('Quotes.md', 'r', encoding='UTF8') as file:
    for line in file:
        if '[!quote]' in line:
            author = re.findall(r'\[\[(.*?)]]', line) # Find [[author]]
            author = ' '.join(author) # remove []
            quote_list['author'] = author # add to dictionary
        elif '>' in line and not '[!quote]' in line:
            quote = line.strip('> ').strip('\n') # strip off > and \n
            quote_list['quote'] = quote

print(quote_list)

However, the final result is only 1 quote (the last quote in the document), so it appears to be overwriting the entry each time. I'm at a loss for what I'm doing wrong so any advice is much appreciated.

As I typed this out I realized that I don't think this is going to keep the authors + quotes together like I had hoped.

Example:

{'author': 'Frank A. Clark', 'quote': "We find comfort among those who agree with us - growth among those who don't"}

Update: This is the final solution I landed on. Reading line by line, if the line meets my criteria then I do what I need to for the author and then use next(file) to skip to the next line and pull the quote, finally adding it into a list as a separate dictionary.

https://pastebin.com/nuiT8Nry

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TutorialsPoint
tutorialspoint.com › article › how-to-create-an-empty-dictionary-in-python
How to create an empty dictionary in Python?
March 24, 2026 - Empty dictionary: {} After adding values: {'name': 'Alice', 'age': 25} The dict() constructor creates an empty dictionary when called without arguments.
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Spark By {Examples}
sparkbyexamples.com › home › python › how to create python empty dictionary?
How to Create Python Empty Dictionary? - Spark By {Examples}
May 31, 2024 - You can use the zip() and len() methods to create an empty dictionary with keys and no values. Python zip() is a built-in function that is used to zip or combine the elements from two or more iterable objects like lists, tuples, dictionaries, etc.
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GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › python › python-initializing-dictionary-with-empty-lists
Initializing dictionary with Empty Lists in Python - GeeksforGeeks
July 11, 2025 - Dictionary comprehension is the most sought method to do this initialization. In this method, we create the no. of keys we require and then initialize the empty list as we keep on creating the keys, to facilitate the append operation afterward without an error. ... # Python3 code to demonstrate # to initialize dictionary with list # using dictionary comprehension # using dictionary comprehension to construct new_dict = {new_list: [] for new_list in range(4)} # printing result print ("New dictionary with empty lists as keys : " + str(new_dict))