Python String strip() Method

The strip() method in Python removes any leading (spaces at the beginning) and trailing (spaces at the end) characters from a string. By default, it removes whitespace characters like spaces, tabs, and newlines.

Syntax

string.strip([chars])

Parameters:

• chars (optional) – A string specifying the set of characters to remove. If not provided, whitespace is removed.

Returns:

• A new string with leading and trailing characters removed.

Example 1: Remove Leading and Trailing Spaces

text = "   Hello World!   "
cleaned = text.strip()
print(cleaned)

Hello World!

Example 2: Remove Custom Characters

text = "---Python---"
cleaned = text.strip("-")
print(cleaned)

Python

Example 3: Remove Multiple Characters

text = "xyxyLearn Pythonxy"
result = text.strip("xy")
print(result)

Learn Python

Why? The method removed all leading and trailing x and y characters.

Use Case: Clean User Input

username = input("Enter your name: ")
username = username.strip()
print("Welcome,", username)

This ensures that any accidental spaces entered by the user are removed.

Difference between strip(), lstrip(), and rstrip()

• strip(): removes from both ends
• lstrip(): removes from the left only
• rstrip(): removes from the right only

Common Mistakes

• Forgetting that strip() does not change the original string (strings are immutable)
• Thinking it removes characters *within* the string — it only affects the ends.

Interview Tip

strip() is often used in input validation, file reading, and web scraping to clean messy strings.

Summary

• strip() removes leading and trailing characters
• Default: removes whitespace
• Can remove custom characters by passing a string to strip()
• Returns a new string (original string is unchanged)

Practice Problem

Write a program to remove leading and trailing @ and # symbols from a string:

raw = "@@@#Python is fun##@@@"
clean = raw.strip("@#")
print(clean)

Expected Output:

Python is fun