Last modified: Sep 07, 2023 By Alexander Williams

How to Append Multiple Items to List in Python

Today, we'll look at 4 easy methods to add items to a Python list. If you're ready, let's get started!

1. Using the append() method

We can use the append() function in a loop to append multiple items to a list. let's see an example:

my_list = [1, 2, 3]
new_items = [4, 5, 6]

# Append multiple items using a loop
for item in new_items:
    my_list.append(item)

print(my_list)

Output:

[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Let me explain the code:

  1. Define list called my_list containing the initial items [1, 2, 3].

  2. Define a new list called new_items with the items to add to my_list.

  3. Use a for loop to iterate through each item in the new_items list.

  4. Append each item to my_list using append() inside the loop.

2. Using the extend() Method

We can also use the extend() function to append multiple items to a list.

This function takes an iterable (such as a list or tuple) as an argument and appends each item from the iterable to the list.

Here's an example:

my_list = [1, 2, 3]
new_items = [4, 5, 6]

# Append multiple items using extend()
my_list.extend(new_items)

print(my_list)

Output:

[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

 

3. Using List Concatenation Method

With the list concatenation method, you can concatenate two lists, such as:

my_list = [1, 2, 3]
new_items = [4, 5, 6]

# Append multiple items using list concatenation
my_list = my_list + new_items

print(my_list)

Output:

[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

As you can see, we've concatenated my_list with new_items using the + operator.

4. Using List Comprehension method

List Comprehension is the last method in this tutorial for appending multiple items to a list. This method is like the append() method in a loop, but it uses an inline loop instead.

my_list = [1, 2, 3]
new_items = [4, 5, 6]

# Append multiple items using list comprehension
my_list += [item for item in new_items]

print(my_list)

Conclusion

Now that you know 4 methods to add more than one item to a list, you can decide which one you like best.

if you want to learn how to append to a list using a while loop, visit Methods to Append to String in a Loop in Python.