Python Dictionary popitem()

The syntax of popitem() is:

dictionary.popitem()

popitem() Parameters

The popitem() does not take any parameters as arguments.

Let see some examples of the popitem() method in dictionaries.

Example 1: How to use the popitem() method in python dictionaries?

cars = {"BMW" : 1,"TOYOTA" : 2,"TATA" : 3}

print("Removed items is:",cars.popitem())
print("New Dictionary is :",cars)

print("Removed items is:",cars.popitem())
print("New Dictionary is :",cars)

print("Removed items is:",cars.popitem())
print("New Dictionary is :",cars)

Output:

Removed items is: ('TATA', 3)
New Dictionary is : {'BMW': 1, 'TOYOTA': 2}
Removed items is: ('TOYOTA', 2)
New Dictionary is : {'BMW': 1}
Removed items is: ('BMW', 1)
New Dictionary is : {}

Example 2: using popitem() with only one element in dictionaries.

cars = {"BMW" : 1}

print("Removed items is:",cars.popitem())
print("New Dictionary is :",cars)

print("Removed items is:",cars.popitem())
print("New Dictionary is :",cars)

Output 1:

Removed items is: ('BMW', 1)
New Dictionary is : {}
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "", line 6, in <module>
    print("Removed items is:",cars.popitem())
KeyError: 'popitem(): dictionary is empty

As you can see it throws a KeyError exception when there is no item present in the dictionary.

Rules of popitem()

• The popitem() method works on LIFO order (Last in, First out).
• It will remove the last key-value pair from the dictionary.
• Throw KeyError when no item is left in the dictionary.