max()

max(iterable, *[, key, default])

Returns: object · Updated March 13, 2026 · Built-in Functions

built-in comparison iteration

The max() function returns the largest item in an iterable or the largest of two or more arguments. It accepts an optional key parameter for custom comparison logic and a default value for empty iterables.

Syntax

max(iterable, *[, key, default])
max(arg1, arg2, *args)

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
iterable	iterable	—	An iterable containing comparable elements
*args	objects	—	Multiple arguments to compare (instead of iterable)
key	callable	None	A function that returns a value to compare
default	object	None	Value to return if the iterable is empty

Examples

Basic usage with a list

numbers = [3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6]
result = max(numbers)
print(result)
# 9

Multiple arguments

result = max(3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6)
print(result)
# 9

Using key parameter

words = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "date"]
longest = max(words, key=len)
print(longest)
# 'banana'

Using default for empty iterable

empty_list = []
result = max(empty_list, default=0)
print(result)
# 0

Finding maximum in a list of dictionaries

students = [
    {"name": "Alice", "grade": 85},
    {"name": "Bob", "grade": 92},
    {"name": "Charlie", "grade": 78}
]

top_student = max(students, key=lambda x: x["grade"])
print(top_student)
# {'name': 'Bob', 'grade': 92}

Common Patterns

Finding the key with maximum value

word_lengths = {"apple": 5, "banana": 6, "cherry": 6}
longest_word = max(word_lengths, key=word_lengths.get)
print(longest_word)
# 'banana'

Conditional max

numbers = [1, -5, 3, -2, 7, -1]
max_positive = max(n for n in numbers if n > 0)
print(max_positive)
# 7

Errors

ValueError: If the iterable is empty and no default is provided:
```
max([])  # ValueError: max() arg is an empty sequence
```

TypeError: If comparing incompatible types:

max([1, "a"])  # TypeError: '>' not supported between instances