Remove empty and whitespace-only strings
Input
skip_empty(["a", "", "b", " ", "c"])
Output
['a', 'b', 'c']
Empty string and a single-space string are removed, others kept in order.
Full lesson preview
Skip Empty Strings
Filter out empty or whitespace-only strings from a list while preserving order.
Python practice10 minLoops & IterationBeginnerLast updated March 15, 2026
Problem statement
Given a list of strings, return a new list where all strings that are empty or contain only whitespace characters are removed. Preserve the relative order of the remaining strings.
Task
Use iteration and string methods to filter a list, skipping entries that are empty or contain only whitespace.
Examples
Input format
A list of strings.
Output format
A list of strings containing only non-empty, non-whitespace-only entries.
Constraints
Do not modify the original list; return a new list. Use only Python standard string methods.
Samples
Sample 1
Input
skip_empty(["hello", " world "])
Output
['hello', ' world ']
Strings with surrounding or internal whitespace but containing characters are kept unchanged.