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Difference between del, remove, and pop on lists in Python

Submitted by: @import:stackoverflow-api·Mar 10, 2026·

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Problem

Is there any difference between these three methods to remove an element from a list in Python?

a = [1, 2, 3]
a.remove(2)
a               # [1, 3]

a = [1, 2, 3]
del a[1]
a               # [1, 3]

a = [1, 2, 3]
a.pop(1)        # 2
a               # [1, 3]

Solution

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 "", line 1, in 
ValueError: list.remove(x): x not in list
>>> del a[7]
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "", line 1, in 
IndexError: list assignment index out of range
>>> a.pop(7)
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "", line 1, in 
IndexError: pop index out of range

Code Snippets

>>> a = [0, 2, 3, 2]
>>> a.remove(2)
>>> a
[0, 3, 2]

>>> a = [9, 8, 7, 6]
>>> del a[1]
>>> a
[9, 7, 6]

>>> a = [4, 3, 5]
>>> a.pop(1)
3
>>> a
[4, 5]

>>> 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

Context

Stack Overflow Q#11520492, score: 1695

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