Python - remove set items

In this article, we would like to show you how to remove set items in Python.

Quick solution:

xxxxxxxxxx

my_set.remove('item')

or

xxxxxxxxxx

my_set.discard('item')

Note:

The difference between remove() and discard() method is that when the item to remove doesn't exist, the discard() method won't throw an error.

In this example, we use remove() method to remove B item from the set.

xxxxxxxxxx

my_set = {'A', 'B', 'C'}

​

my_set.remove('B')

​

print(my_set)  # {'C', 'A'}

Output:

xxxxxxxxxx

{'C', 'A'}

In this example, we use discard() method to remove B item from the set.

xxxxxxxxxx

my_set = {'A', 'B', 'C'}

​

my_set.discard('B')

​

print(my_set)  # {'C', 'A'}

Output:

xxxxxxxxxx

{'A', 'C'}

In this example, we use clear() method to empty the set.

xxxxxxxxxx

my_set = {'A', 'B', 'C'}

​

my_set.clear()

​

print(my_set)  # set()

Output:

xxxxxxxxxx

set()