# 5.2 The `del` statement

There is a way to remove an item from a list given its index instead of its value: the `del` statement. This can also be used to remove slices from a list (which we did earlier by assignment of an empty list to the slice). For example:

    >>> a
    [-1, 1, 66.6, 333, 333, 1234.5]
    >>> del a[0]
    >>> a
    [1, 66.6, 333, 333, 1234.5]
    >>> del a[2:4]
    >>> a
    [1, 66.6, 1234.5]
    >>>

`del` can also be used to delete entire variables:

    >>> del a
    >>>

Referencing the name `a` hereafter is an error (at least until another value is assigned to it). We'll find other uses for `del` later.