Dictionaries in Python

Last Updated : 01 Sep, 2025

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Python dictionary is a data structure that stores the value in key: value pairs. Values in a dictionary can be of any data type and can be duplicated, whereas keys can't be repeated and must be immutable.

Example: Here, The data is stored in key:value pairs in dictionaries, which makes it easier to find values.

Python

d = {1: 'Geeks', 2: 'For', 3: 'Geeks'}
print(d)

Output

{1: 'Geeks', 2: 'For', 3: 'Geeks'}

How to Create a Dictionary

Dictionary can be created by placing a sequence of elements within curly {} braces, separated by a 'comma'.

Python

d1 = {1: 'Geeks', 2: 'For', 3: 'Geeks'}
print(d1)

# create dictionary using dict() constructor
d2 = dict(a = "Geeks", b = "for", c = "Geeks")
print(d2)

Output

{1: 'Geeks', 2: 'For', 3: 'Geeks'}
{'a': 'Geeks', 'b': 'for', 'c': 'Geeks'}

Dictionary keys are case sensitive: the same name but different cases of Key will be treated distinctly.
Keys must be immutable: This means keys can be strings, numbers or tuples but not lists.
Keys must be unique: Duplicate keys are not allowed and any duplicate key will overwrite the previous value.
Dictionary internally uses hashing. Hence, operations like search, insert, delete can be performed in Constant Time.

From Python 3.7 Version onward, Python dictionary are Ordered.

Accessing Dictionary Items

We can access a value from a dictionary by using the key within square brackets or get() method.

Python

d = { "name": "Prajjwal", 1: "Python", (1, 2): [1,2,4] }

# Access using key
print(d["name"])

# Access using get()
print(d.get("name"))

Output

Prajjwal
Prajjwal

Adding and Updating Dictionary Items

We can add new key-value pairs or update existing keys by using assignment.

Python

d = {1: 'Geeks', 2: 'For', 3: 'Geeks'}

# Adding a new key-value pair
d["age"] = 22

# Updating an existing value
d[1] = "Python dict"

print(d)

Output

{1: 'Python dict', 2: 'For', 3: 'Geeks', 'age': 22}

Removing Dictionary Items

We can remove items from dictionary using the following methods:

del: Removes an item by key.
pop(): Removes an item by key and returns its value.
clear(): Empties the dictionary.
popitem(): Removes and returns the last key-value pair.

Python

d = {1: 'Geeks', 2: 'For', 3: 'Geeks', 'age':22}

# Using del to remove an item
del d["age"]
print(d)

# Using pop() to remove an item and return the value
val = d.pop(1)
print(val)

# Using popitem to removes and returns
# the last key-value pair.
key, val = d.popitem()
print(f"Key: {key}, Value: {val}")

# Clear all items from the dictionary
d.clear()
print(d)

Output

{1: 'Geeks', 2: 'For', 3: 'Geeks'}
Geeks
Key: 3, Value: Geeks
{}

Iterating Through a Dictionary

We can iterate over keys [using keys() method] , values [using values() method] or both [using item() method] with a for loop.

Python

d = {1: 'Geeks', 2: 'For', 'age':22}

# Iterate over keys
for key in d:
    print(key)

# Iterate over values
for value in d.values():
    print(value)

# Iterate over key-value pairs
for key, value in d.items():
    print(f"{key}: {value}")

Output

1
2
age
Geeks
For
22
1: Geeks
2: For
age: 22

Read in detail: Ways to Iterating Over a Dictionary

Nested Dictionaries

Example of Nested Dictionary:

Python

d = {1: 'Geeks', 2: 'For',
        3: {'A': 'Welcome', 'B': 'To', 'C': 'Geeks'}}

print(d)

Output

{1: 'Geeks', 2: 'For', 3: {'A': 'Welcome', 'B': 'To', 'C': 'Geeks'}}

Read in Detail: Python Nested Dictionary

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