sorted()

The built-in sorted() function returns a new sorted list from the elements of any iterable passed to it. It provides the flexibility to sort in ascending or descending order and allows customization of the sort order through a key function:

Python 
>>> sorted([5, 2, 3, 1, 4])
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

sorted() Signature

Python Syntax 
sorted(iterable, *, key=None, reverse=False)

Arguments

Argument Description Default Value
iterable An iterable object like a list, tuple, or string that you want to sort. Required argument
key A one-argument function that extracts a comparison key from each element. None
reverse A Boolean that, if True, sorts the elements in descending order. False

Return Value

  • Returns a new sorted list of the elements in the iterable.

sorted() Examples

With a list of numbers:

Python 
>>> sorted([4, 2, 7, 5, 1, 6, 3])
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

With a string:

Python 
>>> sorted("bdeac")
['a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e']

With a reverse argument:

Python 
>>> sorted([4, 2, 7, 5, 1, 6, 3], reverse=True)
[7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1]

sorted() Common Use Cases

The most common use cases for the sorted() function include:

  • Sorting lists, tuples, or any iterable in ascending or descending order
  • Customizing sort order using a key function

sorted() Real-World Example

Imagine you have a list of student records, and you need to sort them first by grade and then by age. You can use the sorted() function with a key argument to achieve this:

Python 
>>> from operator import itemgetter

>>> students = [('john', 'A', 15), ('jane', 'B', 12), ('dave', 'B', 10)]
>>> sorted(students, key=itemgetter(1, 2))
[('john', 'A', 15), ('dave', 'B', 10), ('jane', 'B', 12)]

In this example, sorted() helps by using itemgetter from the operator module to sort by the second element (grade) and then by the third element (age).

How to Use sorted() and sort() in Python

Tutorial

How to Use sorted() and .sort() in Python

In this step-by-step tutorial, you’ll learn how to sort in Python. You'll know how to sort various types of data in different data structures, customize the order, and work with two different ways of sorting in Python.

basics python

For additional information on related topics, take a look at the following resources:

By Leodanis Pozo Ramos • Updated Nov. 22, 2024 • Reviewed by Dan Bader
Python’s Built-in Functions Share Feedback