The pop method

The pop method removes an element from a dictionary by its key and returns its value. In the first parameter of the method, we set the element key, in the second optional parameter - the default value.

Syntax

pythondictionary.pop(key, [default value])

Example

Let's find an element by key and remove it using the pop method:

pythondct = {
  'a': 1,
  'b': 2,
  'c': 3
}

print(dct.pop('a', '!'))
print(dct)

Result of code execution:

python1
{'b': 2, 'c': 3}

Example

Now let's try to find and delete an element by a key that is not in the dictionary:

pythondct = {
  'a': 1,
  'b': 2,
  'c': 3
}

print(dct.pop('e', '!'))
print(dct)

Result of code execution:

python!
{'a': 1, 'b': 2, 'c': 3}

Example

Let's modify the previous example so that there is no default value for a non-existent key:

pythondct = {
  'a': 1,
  'b': 2,
  'c': 3
}

print(dct.pop('e'))
print(dct)

After executing the code, the method will return us an error:

errorKeyError: 'e'

See also