Initializing a dictionary in python with a key value and no corresponding values

Question

I was wondering if there was a way to initialize a dictionary in python with keys but no corresponding values until I set them. Such as:

Definition = {\'apple\':         


        

Answer 1

you could use a defaultdict. It will let you set dictionary values without worrying if the key already exists. If you access a key that has not been initialized yet it will return a value you specify (in the below example it will return None)

from collections import defaultdict
your_dict = defaultdict(lambda : None)