How to Union Multiple Sets in Python?

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The most efficient way to join multiple sets (stored in a list of sets), use the Python one-liner set().union(*list) that creates a new set object, calls the union() method on the new object, and unpacks all sets from the list of sets into the union() method’s argument list.

A set is a unique collection of unordered elements. The union operation combines all elements of two sets into a new set—removing all duplicate entries in the process.

In the following video, you can watch me explain how to union multiple sets in Python:

How to Union Multiple Sets in Python?

So, let’s dive into the formal problem formulation, shall we?

Problem: Given a list or a collection of sets. How to join those sets using the union operation?

Example: You’ve got a list of sets [{1, 2, 3}, {1, 4}, {2, 3, 5}] and you want to calculate the union {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}.

Solution: To union a list of sets, use the following strategy:

  • Create a new set using the set() constructor.
  • Call the union() method on the new set object.
  • Pass all sets as arguments into the union() method by unpacking the list with the asterisk operator *list.
  • The result of the union() method is a new set containing all elements that are in at least one of the sets.

Code: Here’s the one-liner code that unions a collection of sets.

# Create the list of sets
lst = [{1, 2, 3}, {1, 4}, {2, 3, 5}]

# One-Liner to union a list of sets
print(set().union(*lst))

The output of this code is the union of the three sets {1, 2, 3}, {1, 4}, {2, 3, 5}:

{1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

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Try it yourself: Here’s the code in an interactive code shell that runs it in your browser:

Exercise: Change the code to calculate the intersection of the sets in the list!

Where to Go From Here?

Enough theory. Let’s get some practice!

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