Python - Loop Lists

Loop Through a List

You can loop through the list items by using a for loop:

Print all items in the list, one by one:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
for x in thislist:
print(x)

Learn more about for loops in our Python For Loops Chapter.

You can also loop through the list items by referring to their index number.

Use the range() and len() functions to create a suitable iterable.

Print all items by referring to their index number:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
for i in range(len(thislist)):
print(thislist[i])

The iterable created in the example above is [0, 1, 2].

You can loop through the list items by using a while loop.

Use the len() function to determine the length of the list, then start at 0 and loop your way through the list items by referring to their indexes.

Remember to increase the index by 1 after each iteration.

Print all items, using a while loop to go through all the index numbers

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
i = 0
while i < len(thislist):
print(thislist[i])
i = i + 1

Learn more about while loops in our Python While Loops Chapter.

List Comprehension offers the shortest syntax for looping through lists:

A short hand for loop that will print all items in a list:

thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
[print(x) for x in thislist]

Learn more about list comprehension in the next chapter: List Comprehension.