Python List pop() Method (original) (raw)
Last Updated : 11 Sep, 2025
pop() method removes and returns an element from a list. By default, it removes the last item, but we can specify an index to remove a particular element. It directly modifies the original list.
Let's take an example to remove an element from the list using **pop():
Python `
a = [10, 20, 30, 40]
a.pop()
print(a)
`
**Explanation: a.pop() removes the last element, which is **40. The list **a is now **[10, 20, 30].
Syntax:
list.pop(index)
**Parameters:
- **index (optional): index of an item to remove. Defaults to -1 (last item) if argument is not provided.
**Return Type:
- Returns the removed item from the specified index
- Raises **IndexError if the index is out of range.
Examples of pop() Method
Example 1: Using pop() with an index
We can specify an index to remove an element from a particular position (**index) in the list.
Python `
a = ["Apple", "Orange", "Banana", "Kiwi"]
val = a.pop(2)
print(val) print(a)
`
Output
Banana ['Apple', 'Orange', 'Kiwi']
**Explanation:
- **a.pop(2) removes the element at index 2, which is "**Banana".
- **val stores the value **Banana.
Example 2: Using pop() without an index
If we don't pass any argument to the **pop() method, it removes the last item from the list because the default value of the **index is **-1.
Python `
a = [10, 20, 30, 40]
val = a.pop()
print(val) print(a)
`
**Explanation:
- **a.pop() removes the last element, which is **40.
- **val stores the value **40.
Example 3: Handling IndexErrors
The pop() method will raise an **IndexError if we try to pop an element from an index that does not exist. Let’s see an example:
Python `
a = [1, 2, 3] a.pop(5)
`
**Output:
IndexError: pop index out of range
**Explanation:
- list **a has only three elements with valid indices **0, 1, and **2.
- Trying to pop from index 5 will raise an **IndexError.
**Related Articles:
- Python - Remove first element of list
- Python - Remove rear element from list
- Python | Remove given element from the list