🛠 Dictionary Methods

Last Updated: 17th August 2025

A dictionary stores key : value pairs. Keys are unique and immutable; values can be any type.
Below are the most important dictionary methods you must know — each shown with a short example and plain explanation.

  • keys(): Returns a list of all the keys in the dictionary.
fruitsWithPrices = {"apple": 100, "banana": 50, "cherry": 75}
print(fruitsWithPrices.keys())  # dict_keys(['apple', 'banana', 'cherry'])
  • values(): Returns a list of all the values in the dictionary.
fruitsWithPrices = {"apple": 100, "banana": 50, "cherry": 75}
print(fruitsWithPrices.values())  # dict_values([100, 50, 75])
  • items(): Returns a list of all the (key, value) pairs in the dictionary.
fruitsWithPrices = {"apple": 100, "banana": 50, "cherry": 75}
print(fruitsWithPrices.items())  # dict_items([('apple', 100), ('banana', 50), ('cherry', 75)])
  • get(): Returns the value for a given key, or a default value if the key is not found.
fruitsWithPrices = {"apple": 100, "banana": 50, "cherry": 75}
print(fruitsWithPrices.get("apple"))  # 100
print(fruitsWithPrices.get("orange", 0))  # 0
  • setdefault(): Returns the value for a given key, or a default value if the key is not found.
fruitsWithPrices = {"apple": 100, "banana": 50, "cherry": 75}
print(fruitsWithPrices.setdefault("apple"))  # 100
print(fruitsWithPrices.setdefault("orange", 10))  # 10
  • update(): Updates the dictionary with the given key-value pairs.
fruitsWithPrices = {"apple": 100, "banana": 50, "cherry": 75}
fruitsWithPrices.update({"apple": 200, "orange": 300})
print(fruitsWithPrices)  # {'apple': 200, 'banana': 50, 'cherry': 75, 'orange': 300}
  • pop(): Removes and returns the value for a given key, or a default value if the key is not found.
fruitsWithPrices = {"apple": 100, "banana": 50, "cherry": 75}
print(fruitsWithPrices.pop("apple"))  # 100
print(fruitsWithPrices.pop("orange", 0))  # 0
  • del: Removes a key from the dictionary. It raises a KeyError if the key is not found.
fruitsWithPrices = {"apple": 100, "banana": 50, "cherry": 75}
del fruitsWithPrices["apple"]
  • popitem(): Removes and returns the last inserted (key, value) pair (Python 3.7+ preserve insertion order). Raises KeyError if dict empty.
fruitsWithPrices = {"apple": 100, "banana": 50, "cherry": 75}
print(fruitsWithPrices.popitem())  # ('cherry', 75)
  • clear(): Removes all elements from the dictionary.
fruitsWithPrices = {"apple": 100, "banana": 50, "cherry": 75}
fruitsWithPrices.clear()

💡 Quick Practice

  • Create a dictionary of your favorite fruits and their prices.
  • Access the value for a specific fruit.
  • Update the price of a fruit.
  • Loop through the dictionary and print each fruit and its price.
  • Exercise
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