Python Dictionary popitem() method (original) (raw)

Last Updated : 11 Jul, 2025

**popitem() method in Python is used to remove and return the last key-value pair from the dictionary. It is often used when we want to remove a random element, particularly when the dictionary is not ordered.

**Example:

Python `

d = {1: '001', 2: '010', 3: '011'}

Using popitem() to remove and return the last item

res = d.popitem() print(res) print(d)

`

Output

(3, '011') {1: '001', 2: '010'}

**Explanation: In this example, the last key-value pair 3: '011' is removed from the dictionary and the updated dictionary is printed.

popitem() syntax

dict.popitem()

Here, dict is the dictionary from which the key-value pair is to be removed.

**Parameter:

• **None: The popitem() method does not take any parameters.

**Returns:

• This method returns a tuple containing the last key-value pair removed from the dictionary.
• If the dictionary is empty, it raises a KeyError.

popitem() examples

**Example 1: popitem() on an Empty Dictionary

Python `

d = {}

Trying to use popitem() on an empty dictionary

try: d.popitem() except KeyError as e: print(e)

`

Output

'popitem(): dictionary is empty'

**Explanation: When **popitem() is called on an empty dictionary, it raises a KeyError indicating that the dictionary is empty.

**Example 2: Removing Items One by One

Python `

d = {1: '001', 2: '010', 3: '011'}

removing items one by one using popitem()

print(d.popitem()) print(d.popitem()) print(d.popitem())

`

Output

(3, '011') (2, '010') (1, '001')

**Explanation: Here, we remove and print each item from the dictionary until it becomes empty. The items are removed in reverse insertion order.