min()

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

Returns object· Updated May 12, 2026· Built-in Functions

built-incomparisoniteration

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

Syntax

min(iterable, *[, key, default])
min(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 = min(numbers)
print(result)
# 1

Multiple arguments

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

Using key parameter

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

Using default for empty iterable

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

Finding minimum in a list of dictionaries

products = [
    {"name": "Widget", "price": 25},
    {"name": "Gadget", "price": 15},
    {"name": "Gizmo", "price": 30}
]

cheapest = min(products, key=lambda x: x["price"])
print(cheapest)
# {'name': 'Gadget', 'price': 15}

Common Patterns

Finding the key with minimum value

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

Conditional min

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

Errors

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

TypeError: If comparing incompatible types:

min([1, "a"])  # TypeError: < not supported between instances