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Remove Element from Map in Go

Last Updated : May 27, 2025

In Go, you can remove an element from a map using the built-in delete() function. This function takes the map and the key to be removed. If the key exists, it is removed from the map; if not, the function does nothing.

Removing an Element from a Map

Use the delete() function to remove a key-value pair from a map.

Example

This example demonstrates how to remove an element from a map:

package main
import "fmt"

func main() {
    capitals := map[string]string{
        "MH": "Mumbai",
        "DL": "Delhi",
        "KA": "Bengaluru",
    }

    fmt.Println("Before deletion:", capitals)

    delete(capitals, "DL") // Remove Delhi

    fmt.Println("After deletion:", capitals)
}

When executed, this program outputs:

Before deletion: map[DL:Delhi KA:Bengaluru MH:Mumbai]
After deletion: map[KA:Bengaluru MH:Mumbai]

Deleting a Non-Existing Key

If you attempt to delete a key that doesn't exist, Go does not throw an error. The map remains unchanged.

Example

This example tries to delete a key that is not present in the map:

package main
import "fmt"

func main() {
    students := map[string]int{
        "Amit":   80,
        "Sneha":  90,
        "Rahul":  85,
    }

    delete(students, "Neha") // Key "Neha" doesn't exist

    fmt.Println("After deletion attempt:", students)
}

When executed, this program outputs:

After deletion attempt: map[Amit:80 Rahul:85 Sneha:90]

Using Delete in Conditional Logic

You can use delete() along with a check to ensure the key exists before attempting to delete it.

Example

This example checks for the existence of a key before deleting:

package main
import "fmt"

func main() {
    employees := map[string]string{
        "E101": "Arjun",
        "E102": "Priya",
        "E103": "Kiran",
    }

    if _, exists := employees["E102"]; exists {
        delete(employees, "E102")
        fmt.Println("E102 removed successfully")
    } else {
        fmt.Println("E102 not found")
    }

    fmt.Println("Updated employee list:", employees)
}

When executed, this program outputs:

E102 removed successfully
Updated employee list: map[E101:Arjun E103:Kiran]

Exercise

Select the correct answer for each question about removing map elements in Go.

1. Which function is used to remove a key-value pair from a map? --Select-- delete() remove() map.remove()
2. What happens if you try to delete a non-existing key? --Select-- Nothing happens Runtime error occurs Zero value is added
3. How can you check if a key exists before deleting it? --Select-- _, ok := map[key] map.contains(key) exists(map, key)