How to use enumerate() in Python

You can use ‘enumerate()‘ in Python to loop over an iterable (such as a list, tuple, or string) while also keeping track of the index of the current item.

1. Use ‘enumerate()‘ with a list:

my_list = ["apple", "grape", "mango", "peach", "lemon"]

for idx, item in enumerate(my_list):
    print(idx, item)

The result:

0 apple
1 grape
2 mango
3 peach
4 lemon

To specify the start value for the index (for example, the start value of “1”):

my_list = ["apple", "grape", "mango", "peach", "lemon"]

for idx, item in enumerate(my_list, start=1):
    print(idx, item)

The result:

1 apple
2 grape
3 mango
4 peach
5 lemon

2. Use ‘enumerate()‘ with a string:

my_string = "Universe"

for idx, letter in enumerate(my_string):
    print(idx, letter)

The result:

0 U
1 n
2 i
3 v
4 e
5 r
6 s
7 e

3. Use ‘enumerate()‘ with a dictionary:

my_dict = {"A": 1, "B": 2, "C": 3, "D": 4, "E": 5}

for idx, (key, value) in enumerate(my_dict.items()):
    print(idx, key, value)

The result:

0 A 1
1 B 2
2 C 3
3 D 4
4 E 5

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