Python’s built-in dict() function creates and returns a new dictionary object from the comma-separated argument list of key = value mappings. For example, dict(name = 'Alice', age = 22, profession = 'programmer') creates a dictionary with three mappings: {'name': 'Alice', 'age': 22, 'profession': 'programmer'}. A dictionary is an unordered and mutable data structure, so it can be changed after creation.
Read more about dictionaries in our full tutorial about Python Dictionaries.
Usage
Learn by example! Here are some examples of how to use the dict() built-in function:
>>> dict(name = 'Alice')
{'name': 'Alice'}
>>> dict(name = 'Alice', age = 22)
{'name': 'Alice', 'age': 22}
>>> dict(name = 'Alice', age = 22, profession = 'programmer')
{'name': 'Alice', 'age': 22, 'profession': 'programmer'}You can pass an arbitrary number of those comma-separated key = value pairs into the dict() constructor.
Video dict()
Syntax dict()
You can use the dict() method with an arbitrary number of key=value arguments, comma-separated.
Syntax: There are four ways of using the constructor:
dict() -> new empty dictionary
dict(mapping) -> new dictionary initialized from a mapping object's (key, value) pairs
dict(iterable) -> new dictionary initialized from an iterable of (key, value) tuples
dict(**kwargs) -> new dictionary initialized with the name=value pairs in the keyword argument list.Interactive Shell Exercise: Understanding dict()
Consider the following interactive code:
Exercise: Guess the output before running the code.
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The dict() function has many different options to be called with different types of arguments. You’ll learn different ways to use the dict() function next.
How to Create an Empty Dictionary?
You can create an empty dictionary by using Python’s built-in dict() function without any argument. This returns an empty dictionary. As the dictionary is a mutable data structure, you can add more mappings later by using the d[key] = value syntax.
>>> d = dict()
>>> d['Alice'] = 22
>>> d
{'Alice': 22}How to Create a Dictionary Using Only Keyword Arguments?
You can create a dictionary with initial key: value mappings by using a list of comma-separated arguments such as in dict(name = 'Alice', age = 22) to create the dictionary {'name': 'Alice', 'age': 22}. These are called keyword arguments because each argument value has its associated keyword.
>>> dict(name = 'Alice', age = 22)
{'name': 'Alice', 'age': 22}How to Create a Dictionary Using an Iterable?
You can initialize your new dictionary by using an iterable as an input for the dict(iterable) function. Python expects that the iterable contains (key, value) pairs. An example iterable is a list of tuples or a list of lists. The first values of the inner collection types are the keys and the second values of the inner collection types are the values of the new dictionary.
>>> dict([(1, 'one'), (2, 'two')])
{1: 'one', 2: 'two'}
>>> dict([[1, 'one'], [2, 'two']])
{1: 'one', 2: 'two'}
>>> dict(((1, 'one'), (2, 'two')))
{1: 'one', 2: 'two'}Note that you can use inner tuples, inner lists, outer tuples or outer lists—as long as each inner collection contains exactly two values. If it contains more, Python raises an ValueError: dictionary update sequence element.
>>> dict([(1, 'one', 1.0), (2, 'two', 2.0)])
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<pyshell#22>", line 1, in <module>
dict([(1, 'one', 1.0), (2, 'two', 2.0)])
ValueError: dictionary update sequence element #0 has length 3; 2 is requiredYou can fix this ValueError by passing only two values in the inner collections. For example use a list of tuples with only two but not three tuple elements.
How to Create a Dictionary Using an Existing Mapping Object?
If you already have a mapping object such as a dictionary mapping keys to values, you can pass this object as an argument into the dict() function. Python will then create a new dictionary based on the existing key: value mappings in the argument. The resulting dictionary will be a new object so if you change it, the changes are not reflected in the original mapping object.
>>> d = {'Alice': 22, 'Bob': 23, 'Carl': 55}
>>> d2 = dict(d)
>>> d
{'Alice': 22, 'Bob': 23, 'Carl': 55}If you now change the original dictionary, the change is not reflected in the new dictionary d2.
>>> d['David'] = 66
>>> d
{'Alice': 22, 'Bob': 23, 'Carl': 55, 'David': 66}
>>> d2
{'Alice': 22, 'Bob': 23, 'Carl': 55}How to Create a Dictionary Using a Mapping Object and Keyword Arguments?
Interestingly, you can also pass a mapping object into the dict() function and add some more key: value mappings using keyword arguments after the first mapping argument. For example, dict({'Alice': 22}, Bob = 23) creates a new dictionary with both key:value mappings {'Alice': 22, 'Bob': 23}.
>>> dict({'Alice': 22}, Bob = 23)
{'Alice': 22, 'Bob': 23}
>>> dict({'Alice': 22}, Bob = 23, Carl = 55)
{'Alice': 22, 'Bob': 23, 'Carl': 55}How to Create a Dictionary Using an Iterable and Keyword Arguments?
Similarly, you can also pass an iterable of (key, value) tuples into the dict() function and add some more key: value mappings using keyword arguments after the first mapping argument. For example, dict([('Alice', 22)], Bob = 23) creates a new dictionary with both key:value mappings {'Alice': 22, 'Bob': 23}.
>>> dict([('Alice', 22)], Bob = 23)
{'Alice': 22, 'Bob': 23}
>>> dict([('Alice', 22), ('Carl', 55)], Bob = 23)
{'Alice': 22, 'Carl': 55, 'Bob': 23}Summary
Python’s built-in dict() function creates and returns a new dictionary object from the comma-separated argument list of key = value mappings.
For example, dict(name = 'Alice', age = 22, profession = 'programmer') creates a dictionary with three mappings: {'name': 'Alice', 'age': 22, 'profession': 'programmer'}.
>>> dict(name = 'Alice', age = 22, profession = 'programmer')
{'name': 'Alice', 'age': 22, 'profession': 'programmer'}A dictionary is an unordered and mutable data structure, so it can be changed after creation.
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