Python String startswith() (original) (raw)

Last Updated : 29 Apr, 2025

**startswith() method in Python checks whether a given string starts with a specific prefix. It helps in efficiently verifying whether a string begins with a certain substring, which can be useful in various scenarios like:

• Filtering data
• Validating input
• Simple pattern matching

Let’s understand by taking a simple example:

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Python

``

`s = "GeeksforGeeks" res = s.startswith("for")

print(res)

`

``
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Explanation: startswith() method checks if the string s starts with “for“, and since it starts with “Geeks**” instead of for, the result is **False.

Syntax

string.startswith(prefix[, start[, end]])

**Parameters:

• **prefix: A string or a tuple of strings to check at the start.
• **start (optional): Index to start checking from.
• **end (optional): Index to stop checking.

**Return Type: The method returns a Boolean:

• **True if the string starts with the specified prefix.
• **False if it does not.

Examples of startswith() method

Example 1: Basic Prefix Check

Here’s a simple example where we check if a given string starts with the word “for”.

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Python

``

`s = "GeeksforGeeks"

res = s.startswith("for") print(res)

`

``
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Explanation: The string starts with “Geeks“, so it returns **True.

Example 2: Using start Parameter

Let’s check the string using the start parameter to begin from a specific index.

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Python

``

`s = "GeeksforGeeks" print(s.startswith("for", 5))

`

``
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Explanation: We’re checking from index 5, and “for**” starts from there hence the result is **True.

Example 3: Using start and end Parameters

We can also check for stings within a given slice using star and end parameters.

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Python

``

`s = "GeeksforGeeks" print(s.startswith("for", 5, 8))

`

``
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**Explanation: checking only between index **5 and **8 (non inclusive) and **“for” lies in that slice, so it returns **True.

Example 4: Checking Multiple Prefixes

We can also check if the string starts with any one of several prefixes by passing a tuple of prefixes.

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Python

``

`s = "GeeksforGeeks"

res = s.startswith(("Geeks", "G")) print(res)

`

``
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**Explanation:

• We pass a tuple with two prefixes: “Geeks” and “G”.
• The string starts with “**Geeks“, which is one of the options in the tuple, so the result is **True.