How to Clear or Empty a Dictionary in Python

Delete all items of a Python Dictionary

To clear or empty a dictionary, which means deleting all the items in the dictionary, use clear() function.

In this tutorial, we shall learn how to clear all the items in a Python Dictionary using Dictionary.clear() function, with the help of syntax and well detailed example Python programs.

Syntax of Dictionary.clear()

Following is the syntax to clear items in a Dictionary.

Dictionary.clear()

The elements in the original dictionary are removed. This operation results in a loss of data. So, exercise caution while you call clear() on Dictionary.

Examples

1. Clear all items in a given Dictionary

We will create a dictionary, initialize it with some key:value pairs, and then delete all of them using clear() function.

Python Program

myDictionary = {
	"a": 65,
	"b": 66,
	"c": 67
}

# print the dictionary items
print('Dictionary items:\n',myDictionary)

# clear the dictionary
myDictionary.clear()

# print the dictionary items
print('Dictionary items after clear():\n',myDictionary)

Explanation

  1. A dictionary myDictionary is created and initialized with three key-value pairs: "a": 65, "b": 66, and "c": 67.
  2. The print() function is used to display the dictionary items before clearing, which are:
    • "a": 65
    • "b": 66
    • "c": 67
  3. The clear() method is called on the dictionary, which removes all items from it.
  4. The print() function is used again to display the dictionary items after the clear() method has been called, showing an empty dictionary.

Output

Dictionary items:
 {'a': 65, 'b': 66, 'c': 67}
Dictionary items after clear():
 {}

Summary

In this tutorial of Python Examples, we learned how to clear or empty a Python Dictionary using clear(), with the help of well detailed Python example programs.

Python Libraries