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Drop[list,n]

gives list with its first n elements dropped.

Drop[list,-n]

gives list with its last n elements dropped.

Drop[list,{n}]

gives list with its n^(th) element dropped.

Drop[list,{m,n}]

gives list with elements m through n dropped.

Drop[list,{m,n,s}]

gives list with elements m through n in steps of s dropped.

Drop[list,seq1,seq2,…]

gives a nested list in which elements specified by seqi have been dropped at level i in list.

Details
Details and Options Details and Options
Examples  
Basic Examples  
Scope  
Generalizations & Extensions  
Applications  
Properties & Relations  
Possible Issues  
See Also
Tech Notes
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Drop

Drop[list,n]

gives list with its first n elements dropped.

Drop[list,-n]

gives list with its last n elements dropped.

Drop[list,{n}]

gives list with its n^(th) element dropped.

Drop[list,{m,n}]

gives list with elements m through n dropped.

Drop[list,{m,n,s}]

gives list with elements m through n in steps of s dropped.

Drop[list,seq1,seq2,…]

gives a nested list in which elements specified by seqi have been dropped at level i in list.

Details

  • Drop uses the standard sequence specification:
  • Allall elements
    Noneno elements
    nelements 1 through n
    UpTo[n]elements 1 up to at most n, as available
    -nlast n elements
    {n}element n only
    {m,n}elements m through n inclusive
    {m,n,s}elements m through n in steps of s
  • Drop can be used on an object with any head, not necessarily List.
  • For a matrix, Drop[list,seq1,seq2] effectively drops all elements except those in a submatrix of list.
  • Drop works on SparseArray objects.
  • Applying Drop to an Association object yields an Association with elements from the specified positions dropped.

Examples

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Basic Examples  (6)

Drop the first 2 elements from a list:

Wolfram Language code: Drop[{a, b, c, d, e, f}, 2]

Drop the last 3 elements:

Wolfram Language code: Drop[{a, b, c, d, e, f}, -3]

Drop elements 2 through 4:

Wolfram Language code: Drop[{a, b, c, d, e, f}, {2, 4}]

Drop the second element from an Association:

Wolfram Language code: Drop[<|1 -> a, 2 -> b, 3 -> c|>, {2}]

Drop all but the first element from an Association:

Wolfram Language code: Drop[<|1 -> a, 2 -> b, 3 -> c, 4 -> d|>, {2, -1}]

Drop every other element from 2 to 6 from an Association:

Wolfram Language code: Drop[<|1 -> a, 2 -> b, 3 -> c, 4 -> d, 5 -> e, 6 -> f|>, {2, 6, 2}]

Scope  (8)

Drop elements from the third to the third-to-last:

Wolfram Language code: Drop[{a, b, c, d, e, f}, {3, -3}]

Drop every other element:

Wolfram Language code: Drop[{a, b, c, d, e, f}, {1, -1, 2}]

Drop the first row of a matrix:

Wolfram Language code: Drop[{{11, 12, 13}, {21, 22, 23}, {31, 32, 33}}, 1]

Drop the first row, and the first two columns:

Wolfram Language code: Drop[{{11, 12, 13}, {21, 22, 23}, {31, 32, 33}}, 1, 2]

Drop none of the rows, but the first two columns:

Wolfram Language code: Drop[{{11, 12, 13}, {21, 22, 23}, {31, 32, 33}}, None, 2]

Drop rows 2 through 4 and columns 3 through 5:

Wolfram Language code: Drop[(| | | | | | | :- | :- | :- | :- | :- | | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 |), {2, 4}, {3, 5}]//MatrixForm

Drop every other row and every third column:

Wolfram Language code: Drop[(| | | | | | | :- | :- | :- | :- | :- | | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 |), {1, -1, 2}, {1, -1, 3}]//MatrixForm

Drop the first 4 elements if possible, or as many as are available:

Wolfram Language code: Drop[{a, b, c}, UpTo[4]]

Generalizations & Extensions  (2)

Drop works with any head, not just List:

Wolfram Language code: Drop[a + b + c + d + e + f, 3]
Wolfram Language code: Drop[{a + b + c, t + u + v, x + y + z}, 2, 2]
Wolfram Language code: Drop[(a + b + c)(t + u + v)(x + y + z), 2, 2]

Drop works with SparseArray objects:

Wolfram Language code: Drop[SparseArray[Range[1000]], {3, -4}]
Wolfram Language code: Normal[%]

Applications  (1)

Pick out a subimage:

Wolfram Language code: ArrayPlot[CellularAutomaton[150, {{1}, 0}, 50]]
Wolfram Language code: ArrayPlot[Drop[CellularAutomaton[150, {{1}, 0}, 50], 20, {20, -20}]]

Properties & Relations  (3)

Drop and Take are complementary:

Wolfram Language code: Drop[{a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h}, {2, -4, 2}]
Wolfram Language code: Take[{a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h}, {2, -4, 2}]

Rest is a special case of Drop:

Wolfram Language code: Rest[{a, b, c, d, e}]
Wolfram Language code: Drop[{a, b, c, d, e}, 1]

Most is a special case of Drop:

Wolfram Language code: Most[{a, b, c, d, e}]
Wolfram Language code: Drop[{a, b, c, d, e}, -1]

Possible Issues  (1)

Drop always gives a list, even if only one element remains:

Wolfram Language code: Drop[{a, b, c, d, e}, 4]
Wolfram Research (1988), Drop, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Drop.html (updated 2015).

Text

Wolfram Research (1988), Drop, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Drop.html (updated 2015).

CMS

Wolfram Language. 1988. "Drop." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Wolfram Research. Last Modified 2015. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Drop.html.

APA

Wolfram Language. (1988). Drop. Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. Retrieved from https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Drop.html

BibTeX

@misc{reference.wolfram_2026_drop, author="Wolfram Research", title="{Drop}", year="2015", howpublished="\url{https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Drop.html}", note=[Accessed: 01-September-2026]}

BibLaTeX

@online{reference.wolfram_2026_drop, organization={Wolfram Research}, title={Drop}, year={2015}, url={https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Drop.html}, note=[Accessed: 01-September-2026]}