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Bisect Algorithm Functions in Python

Last Updated : 01 Aug, 2025

The bisect module in Python provides simple and fast (binary search based) functions to search an element in a sorted list, find the correct position to insert new elements, and insert new elements ensuring that the list remains sorted.

1. Useful for binary search operations to search in a sorted list and to locate insertion points.
2. Provides efficient methods to insert elements into a sorted list while maintaining order.
3. Avoids the need for manual sorting after each insertion, saving time and effort.
4. Offers functions like bisect(), bisect_left(), bisect_right() and insort() for clean optimized code.
5. Ideal for tasks like maintaining leaderboards, ranked data or any scenario involving sorted data insertion/search.

The bisect module mainly offers two types of functionalities:

• Finding the insertion point (without insertion)
• Inserting elements at the correct position

These functions return the index where the new element should be inserted to keep the list sorted.

a) bisect.bisect(): Returns the rightmost insertion point for the element. If the element already exists, the insertion point will be after the existing entries.

bisect.bisect(list, num, beg=0, end=len(list))

Parameter:

• list: Sorted list.
• num: Element to insert.
• beg: Start index for searching (optional).
• end: End index for searching (optional).

b) bisect.bisect_left(): Returns the leftmost insertion point for the element. If the element exists, the insertion point will be before the existing entries.

bisect.bisect_left(list, num, beg=0, end=len(list))

c) bisect.bisect_right(): Identical to bisect.bisect(), returns the rightmost insertion point.

bisect.bisect_right(list, num, beg=0, end=len(list))

Example: Find insertion indices for the value 4 in a sorted list using different bisect functions.

import bisect
li = [1, 3, 4, 4, 4, 6, 7] 

print(bisect.bisect(li, 4)) # right
print(bisect.bisect_left(li, 4)) # left
print(bisect.bisect_right(li, 4, 0, 4)) # subright

Explanation:

• bisect(li, 4): Returns 5 because it finds the rightmost position after the last 4 in the list (index 4), so the insertion point is 5.
• bisect_left(li, 4): Returns 2 because it finds the leftmost position before the first 4 in the list (index 2).
• bisect_right(li, 4, 0, 4): Works only on sublist li[0:4] and returns 4 because it inserts 4 after the last 4 in the sublist.

These functions insert the element at the proper position to maintain sorting.

a) bisect.insort(): Inserts the element at the rightmost position. Unlike bisect() functions, this actually modifies the list by inserting the element.

bisect.insort(list, num, beg=0, end=len(list))

Parameter:

• list: Sorted list.
• num: Element to insert.
• beg (optional): Start index for insertion (default 0).
• end (optional): End index for insertion (default len(list)).

b) bisect.insort_left(): Inserts the element at the leftmost position.

bisect.insort_left(list, num, beg=0, end=len(list))

c) bisect.insort_right(): Inserts the element at the rightmost position (similar to insort()).

bisect.insort_right(list, num, beg=0, end=len(list))

Example: Insert the value 5 into a sorted list while keeping it sorted, using different insertion strategies.

import bisect
l1 = [1, 3, 4, 4, 4, 6, 7]  
l2 = [1, 3, 4, 4, 4, 6, 7]  
l3 = [1, 3, 4, 4, 4, 6, 7]  

bisect.insort(l1, 5) # right
print(l1) 

bisect.insort_left(l2, 5) # left
print(l2)

bisect.insort_right(l3, 5, 0, 4) # subright
print(l3)

[1, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7]
[1, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7]
[1, 3, 4, 4, 5, 4, 6, 7]

Explanation:

• insort(l1, 5) inserts 5 at the rightmost suitable position – after all 4s and before 6.
• insort_left(l2, 5) inserts 5 at the leftmost suitable position – same as insort here since 5 isn't in the list.
• insort_right(l3, 5, 0, 4) inserts 5 at index 4, working only on sublist l3[0:4] = [1, 3, 4, 4] after the last ≤ 5 in that range, without affecting the rest of the list.

Bisect Algorithm Functions in Python

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