range() and xrange() take a third parameter that specifies a step. So you can do the following.
range(10, 0, -1)
Which gives
[10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1]
But for iteration, you should really be using xrange instead. So,
xrange(10, 0, -1)
Answer from Chinmay Kanchi on Stack OverflowNote for Python 3 users: There are no separate
rangeandxrangefunctions in Python 3, there is justrange, which follows the design of Python 2'sxrange.
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range() and xrange() take a third parameter that specifies a step. So you can do the following.
range(10, 0, -1)
Which gives
[10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1]
But for iteration, you should really be using xrange instead. So,
xrange(10, 0, -1)
Note for Python 3 users: There are no separate
rangeandxrangefunctions in Python 3, there is justrange, which follows the design of Python 2'sxrange.
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for x in reversed(whatever):
do_something()
This works on basically everything that has a defined order, including xrange objects and lists.
GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › python › backward-iteration-in-python
Backward iteration in Python - GeeksforGeeks
July 11, 2025 - We can use slicing slicing notation [::-1] to reverse the order of elements in an iterable. This works for lists, tuples, and strings, but not for sets or dictionaries (since they are unordered).
Is there a way to reverse a for loop
The reversed() function might be what you're looking for. Return a reverse iterator. seq must be an object which has a __reversed__() method or supports the sequence protocol (the __len__() method and the __getitem__() method with integer arguments starting at 0). ie for i in reversed(range(1, 101)): print(i) output: 100 99 98 97 96 ... 5 4 3 2 1 More on reddit.com
4
1
March 27, 2020iterate over a string in reverse
https://docs.python.org/3/library/functions.html#reversed More on reddit.com
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February 7, 2023Why isn't my loop iterating backwards in python?
Hint: Look up documentation on the ‘range’ function…does it actually do what you think it does given the two arguments you provided? Maybe you’re missing an argument? https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#range More on reddit.com
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March 8, 2023Reversing a range using a FOR LOOP
You should show what you've tried so far. It's easier to give productive help if we base the help on code you've written. It doesn't require a for-loop though. You can use one, but it would be far more straightforward with a while. Be careful of artificially limiting what tools you consider. More on reddit.com
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December 24, 2022Videos
Python Tutorial : Reverse a String Using For Loop
02:57
Using reversed to loop in reverse in Python - YouTube
08:02
for Loop - Reversing a Range of Numbers - YouTube
03:51
How to do a Reverse looping in Python - YouTube
01:00
Reverse a String in Python | Using Slicing , for Loop , Join & ...
00:17
Reverse Loop Python - YouTube
Python Morsels
pythonmorsels.com › looping-in-reverse
Looping in reverse - Python Morsels
May 27, 2025 - To loop in the reverse direction, you can use Python's built-in reversed function: >>> colors = ["purple", "blue", "green", "pink", "red"] >>> for color in reversed(colors): ... print("I like", color) ...
Mimo
mimo.org › glossary › python › for-loop
Python For Loop: Syntax and Examples [Python Tutorial]
You can loop over a sequence in reverse order by using the reversed() Python function.
Spark By {Examples}
sparkbyexamples.com › home › python › python for loop in backwards
Python For Loop in Backwards - Spark By {Examples}
May 31, 2024 - Pass range() function into reversed() function will reverse the range() function without any modification and then iterate reversed() function using for loop. This syntax will return the values in backward direction i.e. from back side.
Codecademy
codecademy.com › article › how-to-reverse-a-list-in-python
How to Reverse a List in Python | Codecademy
Learn how to reverse a list in Python using `.reverse()`, `reversed()`, slicing, the two-pointer method, loops, and recursion with examples.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/learnpython › is there a way to reverse a for loop
r/learnpython on Reddit: Is there a way to reverse a for loop
March 27, 2020 -
I would like my iterator to go backward, like, starting from 100 and going to one. Is there a smart way to do this instead of setting a counter into the loop and making it go down by one every time the loop restarts ?
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The reversed() function might be what you're looking for. Return a reverse iterator. seq must be an object which has a __reversed__() method or supports the sequence protocol (the __len__() method and the __getitem__() method with integer arguments starting at 0). ie for i in reversed(range(1, 101)): print(i) output: 100 99 98 97 96 ... 5 4 3 2 1
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range(100, 0, -1)
Reddit
reddit.com › r/learnpython › iterate over a string in reverse
r/learnpython on Reddit: iterate over a string in reverse
February 7, 2023 -
I want to iterate over a string in reverse. I googled it and found this way
for i in range(len(k)-1, 0-1, -1):
but to be honest I don't understand it. can you please explain it to me?
also, I would love it if you guys can suggest other methods
Top answer 1 of 3
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https://docs.python.org/3/library/functions.html#reversed
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This is not the approach you should take. reversed linked to by u/PaulRudin is a better tool here. But to explain the code; range takes up to 3 arguments. The first is the starting point. The second is the end point (this value will terminate the iteration and not be yielded back. The third is the step size. This is the amount by which the initial value will be modified by, until it reaches the end value. So if I pass in range(1, 5, 1) I will get back the values: 1, 2, 3, 4 If I was use to range(0, 10, 2) I get: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 However, using range(10, 0, -2) gives 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 In this code you are starting from the end of some string (the length less one to get the last index) and taking steps backwards by 1 each iteration. The end point is -1 to include the 0 index (written strangely here, but this is a slightly strange construct anyway).
Reddit
reddit.com › r/learnprogramming › why isn't my loop iterating backwards in python?
r/learnprogramming on Reddit: Why isn't my loop iterating backwards in python?
March 8, 2023 -
Basically, I wanted the loop to start from the last index and work that way done. However, I am not getting anything.
listr = [10,20,30,50]
count = 0
for i in range(len(listr),-1):
count +=1
print(listr[i], count)
print('-----') Top answer 1 of 4
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Hint: Look up documentation on the ‘range’ function…does it actually do what you think it does given the two arguments you provided? Maybe you’re missing an argument? https://docs.python.org/3/library/stdtypes.html#range
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range(start, stop, step) if you just give two arguments, the function will interprete it as start and stop.
Medium
medium.com › becoming-a-better-software-developer › undetstanding-python-iterators-reversed-iteration-35f1c1d16196
Undetstanding Python Iterators: Reversed Iteration | by Saleem Latif | Becoming a better Software Developer | Medium
March 8, 2023 - In Python, you can reverse iterate over a sequence by using the reversed() function. The reversed() function returns an iterator that produces the elements of a sequence in reverse order.
JanBask Training
janbasktraining.com › community › python-python › how-do-i-reverse-a-list-or-loop-over-it-backwards
How do I reverse a list or loop over it backwards? | JanBask Training Community
June 4, 2025 - Python offers built-in features that make this process clean and readable. ... The reversed() function returns an iterator that yields the elements of the list in reverse order. my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] for item in reversed(my_list): print(item)
Reddit
reddit.com › r/learnpython › reversing a range using a for loop
r/learnpython on Reddit: Reversing a range using a FOR LOOP
December 24, 2022 -
I'm doing self-study program in Python and I'm being challenged to create a function that act exactly like the RANGE function, but it reverse the range. Let's call it reverserange().
reverserange(0,5) will return tuple (4, 3, 2, 1, 0)
I can't for the life of me figure it out. I've been trying for a couple hours. I know it requires a for loop...
Can anyone assist?
Top answer 1 of 5
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You should show what you've tried so far. It's easier to give productive help if we base the help on code you've written. It doesn't require a for-loop though. You can use one, but it would be far more straightforward with a while. Be careful of artificially limiting what tools you consider.
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reverse = () for x in range(a,b): b = b-1 reverse = (x,) + reverse Here is a good way to solve this, I believe I'm also doing the same course.
TutorialsPoint
tutorialspoint.com › backward-iteration-in-python
Backward iteration in Python
August 7, 2019 - We use a for loop with an iterator ... gives us the following result − · Thu Wed Tue Mon · The reversed() function is very straight forward it's simply picks the elements and prints them in the reverse order....
Newtum
blog.newtum.com › reverse-a-number-in-python-using-for-loop
Reverse a Number in Python Using For Loop - Newtum
October 14, 2024 - The ‘for’ loop iterates through the length of the ‘num’ string in reverse order, starting from the last index and ending at the first index. In each iteration, the current character at the index is added to the ‘reverse’ variable using the ‘+=’ operator. Finally, the reversed string is printed as output: ‘654321’. Understand the Concept of Reverse a Number in Python Using While Loop, Here!
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Use the built-in reversed() function:
>>> a = ["foo", "bar", "baz"]
>>> for i in reversed(a):
... print(i)
...
baz
bar
foo
To also access the original index, use enumerate() on your list before passing it to reversed():
>>> for i, e in reversed(list(enumerate(a))):
... print(i, e)
...
2 baz
1 bar
0 foo
Since enumerate() returns a generator and generators can't be reversed, you need to convert it to a list first.
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You can do:
for item in my_list[::-1]:
print item
(Or whatever you want to do in the for loop.)
The [::-1] slice reverses the list in the for loop (but won't actually modify your list "permanently").
Real Python
realpython.com › python-range
Python range(): Represent Numerical Ranges – Real Python
November 24, 2024 - The range parameters start, stop, and step define where the sequence begins, ends, and the interval between numbers. Ranges can go backward in Python by using a negative step value and reversed by using reversed().
Replit
replit.com › home › discover › how to iterate backwards in python
How to iterate backwards in Python | Replit
1 month ago - The loop starts at 5 and is told to count down with a step of -1. Because the stop value 10 is already higher than the start, the sequence is empty from the beginning. The example below shows the correct approach. # Correctly specifying start > end for reverse iteration for i in range(10, 4, -1): print(i, end=' ') # Prints: 10 9 8 7 6 5
Real Python
realpython.com › python-reverse-list
Reverse Python Lists: Beyond .reverse() and reversed() – Real Python
June 28, 2023 - This diagram shows that you can access the first element of the list (or sequence) using either 0 or -5 with the indexing operator, like in sequence[0] and sequence[-5], respectively. You can use this Python feature to reverse the underlying sequence in place. For example, to reverse the list represented in the diagram, you can loop over the first half of the list and swap the element at index 0 with its mirror at index -1 in the first iteration.
GeeksforGeeks
geeksforgeeks.org › python › python-reversing-list
Reversing a List in Python - GeeksforGeeks
However, reversed() returns an iterator, so it needs to be converted back into a list. ... If we want to reverse a list manually, we can use a loop (for loop) to build a new reversed list.
Published November 26, 2025
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To get a new reversed list, apply the reversed function and collect the items into a list:
>>> xs = [0, 10, 20, 40]
>>> list(reversed(xs))
[40, 20, 10, 0]
To iterate backwards through a list:
>>> xs = [0, 10, 20, 40]
>>> for x in reversed(xs):
... print(x)
40
20
10
0
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>>> xs = [0, 10, 20, 40]
>>> xs[::-1]
[40, 20, 10, 0]
Extended slice syntax is explained here. See also, documentation.