Remove elements from a JavaScript Array

JavaScript array is a single variable that is used to store the elements or a group of values. You can add or remove elements from the array in any position. In this article, we will discuss different ways to remove elements from the array. 

Methods to Remove Elements from JavaScript Array:

There are many methods that are used to remove elements from JavaScript array which are discussed below: 

Note: There are some other methods that are created by JavaScript inbuilt methods.

The below examples illustrate the methods to remove elements from a JavaScript array:

Method 1: using the pop() method:

This method is used to remove the last element of the array and returns the removed element. This function decreases the length of the array by 1. 

Example 1:

javascript

// JavaScript code to illustrate pop() function
// to remove array elements

function func() {
    let arr = ["shift", "splice", "filter", "pop"];

    // Popping the last element from the array
    let popped = arr.pop();
    console.log("Removed element: " + popped);
    console.log("Remaining elements: " + arr);
}
func();

Output

Removed element: pop
Remaining elements: shift,splice,filter

Example 2:

javascript

// Declare and initialize an array
let array = ["pop", "splice", "filter", "shift"]

console.log("Original array: " + array + "<br>")

// Loop run while array length not zero
while (array.length) {

    // Remove elements from array
    array.pop();
}
console.log("Array Length: " + array.length)

Output

Original array: pop,splice,filter,shift<br>
Array Length: 0

Method 2: using the shift() method

This method is used to remove the first element of the array and reduce the size of the original array by 1. 

Example:

javascript

// JavaScript code to illustrate shift() method
// to remove elements from array
function func() {
    let arr = ["shift", "splice", "filter", "pop"];

    // Removing the first element from array
    let shifted = arr.shift();
    console.log("Removed element: " + shifted);
    console.log("Remaining elements: " + arr);
}
func();

Output

Removed element: shift
Remaining elements: splice,filter,pop

Method 3: Using the splice() method

This method is used to modify the contents of an array by removing the existing elements and/or adding new elements. To remove elements by the splice() method you can specify the elements in different ways. 

Example 1: Use the indexing of the splice method to remove elements from a JavaScript array. 

javascript

// JavaScript code to illustrate splice() function

function func() {
    let arr = ["shift", "splice", "filter", "pop"];

    // Removing the specified element from the array
    let spliced = arr.splice(1, 1);
    console.log("Removed element: " + spliced);
    console.log("Remaining elements: " + arr);
}
func();

Output

Removed element: splice
Remaining elements: shift,filter,pop

Example 2: Using the value of the splice method to remove elements from a JavaScript array. 

javascript

// JavaScript code to illustrate splice() function
function func() {
    let arr = ["shift", "splice", "filter", "pop"];

    // Removing the specified element by value from the array
    for (let i = 0; i < arr.length; i++) {
        if (arr[i] === "splice") {
            let spliced = arr.splice(i, 1);
            console.log("Removed element: " + spliced);
            console.log("Remaining elements: " + arr);
        }
    }
}
func();

Output

Removed element: splice
Remaining elements: shift,filter,pop

Example 3: Using the splice method to remove each element from a JavaScript array. 

javascript

// Declare and initialize array
let array = ["pop", "splice", "filter", "shift"]

console.log("Original array: " + array)

// Making the length of array to 0 by using splice method
array.splice(0, array.length);
console.log("Empty array: " + array)

Output

Original array: pop,splice,filter,shift
Empty array: 

Method 4: Using the filter() method

This method is used to create a new array from a given array consisting of only those elements from the given array which satisfy a condition set by the argument function. To remove elements by filter() method you can specify the elements in different ways. 

Example: Use the value of the filter method to remove elements from a JavaScript array. 

javascript

// JavaScript to illustrate filter() method
function isPositive(value) {
    return value > 0;
}

function func() {
    let filtered = [101, 98, 12, -1, 848].filter(isPositive);
    console.log("Positive elements in array: " + filtered);
}
func();

Output

Positive elements in array: 101,98,12,848

Method 5: Using Remove Method

Creating a remove method using the filter method to remove elements from a JavaScript array. This method works in reverse order. 

Example:

javascript

// Declare and initialize an array
let array = ["lowdash", "remove", "delete", "reset"]

// Using filter method to create a remove method
function arrayRemove(arr, value) {

    return arr.filter(function (geeks) {
        return geeks != value;
    });

}

let result = arrayRemove(array, "delete");
console.log("Remaining elements: " + result)

Output

Remaining elements: lowdash,remove,reset

Method 6: Using Delete Operator

Use the delete operator to remove elements from a JavaScript array. 

Example:

javascript

// Declare and initialize an array
let array = ["lowdash", "remove", "delete", "reset"]

// Delete element at index 2
let deleted = delete array[2];

console.log("Removed: " + deleted);
console.log("Remaining elements: " + array);

Output

Removed: true
Remaining elements: lowdash,remove,,reset

Method 7: Using Clear and Reset Operator

Use the clear and reset operator to remove elements from a JavaScript array.

Example 1:

javascript

// Declare and initialize an array
let array = ["lowdash", "remove", "delete", "reset"]

// Sorting array in another array
let arraygeeks = array

// Delete each element of array
array = []
console.log("Empty array: " + array)
console.log("Original array: " + arraygeeks)

Output

Empty array: 
Original array: lowdash,remove,delete,reset

Example 2:

javascript

// Declare and initialize an array
let array = ["lodash", "remove", "delete", "reset"]

console.log("Original array: " + array + "<br>")

// Making the array length to 0
array.length = 0;
console.log("Empty array: " + array)

Output

Original array: lodash,remove,delete,reset<br>
Empty array: 

Method 8: using a simple for() loop and a new array

Here a simple for() will be run over the array and the except for the removed element, the remaining elements will be pushed into the new array which will be declared inside the function or a method.

Example:

Javascript

let removeElement = (array, n) => {
    let newArray = [];

    for (let i = 0; i < array.length; i++) {
        if (array[i] !== n) {
            newArray.push(array[i]);
        }
    }
    return newArray;
};

let passed_in_array = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
let element_to_be_removed = 2;
let result = removeElement(passed_in_array, element_to_be_removed);

console.log("Remaining elements: " + result);

Output

Remaining elements: 1,3,4,5

Method 9: Using lodash _.remove method

Use the lodash library to remove elements from a JavaScript array. To use lodash library you need to install it locally on your system.

Example:

Javascript

// Import Lodash library
const _ = require('lodash');

// Declare and initialize an array
let array = [101, 98, 12, -1, 848];

// using _.remove to remove odd number
let evens= _.remove(array, function(n) {
    return n % 2 == 0;
});

console.log("odd elements: " + array);
console.log("even elements: " + evens);

Output:

odd elements: 101, -1
even elements: 98, 12, 848