Python Tuples

Overview

Tuples are ordered, immutable sequences. Use them for fixed-size records, function return values, and dict keys. Immutability makes tuples hashable when their elements are hashable.

Syntax / Usage

# Create
point = (10, 20)
single = (42,)       # trailing comma required for one-element tuple
mixed = ("Ada", 36, True)

# Access
point[0]   # 10
point[-1]  # 20

# Unpacking
x, y = point
first, *rest = (1, 2, 3, 4)  # first=1, rest=[2,3,4]

# Named tuples (collections module)
from collections import namedtuple
Point = namedtuple("Point", ["x", "y"])
p = Point(3, 4)
p.x  # 3

Examples

Return multiple values from a function:

def min_max(numbers):
    return min(numbers), max(numbers)

low, high = min_max([3, 1, 9, 4])

Use a tuple as a dict key for a sparse grid:

grid = {}
grid[(0, 0)] = "start"
grid[(2, 1)] = "treasure"

Common Mistakes

• Creating (42) instead of (42,)—parentheses alone do not make a tuple
• Trying to mutate tuple elements when they contain mutable objects (the list inside can change)
• Using lists when immutability and hashability are required
• Overusing tuples where a dataclass or NamedTuple improves readability

See Also

python-dictionaries python-sets python-functions