Operator Overloading in Python - GeeksforGeeks

See More

Operator Overloading in Python allows the extension of predefined meanings of operators. For example, the '+' operator can be used for adding integers, joining strings, or merging lists. This is possible because the operator is overloaded by different classes like int and str. In Python, operator overloading is done using special or magic methods, such as add<\/strong>, which change the behavior of an operator for user-defined classes. This mechanism enables Python to apply operators like '+' for user-defined data types, offering flexibility in class design.

For more details, check out the full article: <\/span>Operator Overloading in Python<\/a>.<\/p>\",\"source\":\"https:\/\/cdnvideos.geeksforgeeks.org\/f3c25a28ed729ea048e7df40907094d3gfg-OperatorOverloadingInPythonmp420241202173916\/video.m3u8\",\"category\":[{\"term_id__id\":10,\"term_id__term_name\":\"Python\",\"term_id__term_type\":1,\"term_id__slug\":\"python\"},{\"term_id__id\":118,\"term_id__term_name\":\"Python\",\"term_id__term_type\":2,\"term_id__slug\":\"python-eghmaz\"}],\"meta\":{\"thumbnail\":\"https:\/\/media.geeksforgeeks.org\/courses\/OperatorOverloadinginPython\/OperatorOverloading20241202183448-small.png\",\"largeThumbnail\":\"https:\/\/media.geeksforgeeks.org\/courses\/OperatorOverloadinginPython\/OperatorOverloading20241202183448.jpg\",\"likes\":0,\"views\":8150,\"isFeatured\":0,\"isPremium\":0,\"isPublic\":1,\"format\":\"video\/mp4\",\"revision\":{}},\"time\":\"02\/12\/2024\",\"subtitle\":\"https:\/\/cdnvideos.geeksforgeeks.org\/f3c25a28ed729ea048e7df40907094d3gfg-OperatorOverloadingInPythonmp420241202173916\/subtitle.vtt\",\"duration\":167,\"course_link\":\"https:\/\/www.geeksforgeeks.org\/courses\/master-python-complete-beginner-to-advanced\",\"video_schema\":{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"VideoObject\",\"name\":\"Operator Overloading in Python\",\"description\":\"Operator Overloading in Python allows the extension of predefined meanings of operators. For example, the operator can be used for adding integers, joining strings, or merging lists. This is possible because the operator is overloaded by different classes like int and str. In Python, operator overloading is done using special or magic methods, such as add, which change the behavior of an operator for user-defined classes. This mechanism enables Python to apply operators like for user-defined data types, offering flexibility in class design.For more details, check out the full article Operator Overloading in Python.\",\"thumbnailUrl\":[\"https:\/\/media.geeksforgeeks.org\/courses\/OperatorOverloadinginPython\/OperatorOverloading20241202183448.jpg\",\"https:\/\/media.geeksforgeeks.org\/courses\/OperatorOverloadinginPython\/OperatorOverloading20241202183448-seo.png\",\"https:\/\/media.geeksforgeeks.org\/courses\/OperatorOverloadinginPython\/OperatorOverloading20241202183448-small.png\"],\"uploadDate\":\"2024-12-02T18:35:47Z\",\"duration\":\"PT0H2M47S\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.geeksforgeeks.org\/videos\/operator-overloading-in-python\/\"}}]"); Operator Overloading in Python - GeeksforGeeks

Skip to content

Interview Prep
DSA
Interview Corner
Aptitude & Reasoning
Practice Coding Problems
All Courses
Tutorials
Python
Java
ML & Data Science
Programming Languages
Web Development
CS Subjects
DevOps
Software and Tools
School Learning
Tracks
Languages
Python
C
C++
Java
Advanced Java
SQL
JavaScript
C#
Interview Preparation
GfG 160
GfG 360
System Design
Core Subjects
Interview Questions
Interview Puzzles
Aptitude and Reasoning
Product Management
Computer Organisation and Architecture
Data Science
Python
Data Analytics
Complete Data Science
Gen AI
Agentic AI
Dev Skills
Full-Stack Web Dev
DevOps
Software Testing
CyberSecurity
NextJS
Git
Tools
Computer Fundamentals
AI Tools
MS Excel & Google Sheets
MS Word & Google Docs
Maths
Maths For Computer Science
Engineering Mathematics
School Maths

Python Tutorial
Data Types
Interview Questions
Examples
Quizzes
DSA Python
Data Science
NumPy
Pandas
Practice
Django
Flask
Projects

Open In App

Operator Overloading in Python

Last Updated : 02 Oct, 2025

Comments

Improve

Suggest changes

234 Likes

Like

Report

Operator overloading in Python allows same operator to work in different ways depending on data type.
Python built-in data types allow + operator can add numbers, join strings or merge lists and * operator can be used to repeat instances of a string.
Python also allows to do operator overloading for user defined classes by writing methods like __add__(), __mul__(), __sub__(),, __lt__(), __gt__() and __eq__() to make objects work for operators like +, *, -, <, > and == respectively.
We cannot override or change the operator behavior of built-in types (like int, str, list) globally; but we can subclass them (or define your own class) and implement the special methods
This example shows how built-in operators like + and * work differently depending on the data type.
Python # + operator for integers print(1 + 2) # + operator for strings (concatenation) print("Geeks" + "For") # * operator for numbers print(3 * 4) # * operator for strings (repetition) print("Geeks" * 4)

Output
3 GeeksFor 12 GeeksGeeksGeeksGeeks

Operator Overloading for User Defined Types
When we use an operator on user-defined objects, Python doesn’t know how to handle it. To make operators work with custom classes, Python provides special methods (also called magic methods).
+ operator -> calls __add__(self, other)
- operator -> calls __sub__(self, other)
== operator -> calls __eq__(self, other)
So, when we write obj1 + obj2, internally Python calls:
obj1.__add__(obj2)
If this method is defined in the class, operator overloading works.
Example 1: This code shows how to overload the + operator for integers and strings inside a custom class.
Python class A: def __init__(self, a): self.a = a # define behavior of + def __add__(self, o): return self.a + o.a ob1 = A(1) ob2 = A(2) ob3 = A("Geeks") ob4 = A("For") print(ob1 + ob2) # integer addition print(ob3 + ob4) # string concatenation # actual working (internally) print(A.__add__(ob1, ob2)) print(ob1.__add__(ob2))

Output
3 GeeksFor 3 3
Explanation:
ob1 + ob2 automatically calls ob1.__add__(ob2).
Python translates it into A.__add__(ob1, ob2).
first operand (ob1) becomes self and second operand (ob2) becomes other.
Example 2: This code shows how to overload + operator for a custom Complex class so that it adds real and imaginary parts separately.
Python class Complex: def __init__(self, a, b): self.a = a self.b = b def __add__(self, other): return self.a + other.a, self.b + other.b Ob1 = Complex(1, 2) Ob2 = Complex(2, 3) Ob3 = Ob1 + Ob2 print(Ob3)

Output
(3, 5)
Explanation: Here, Ob1 + Ob2 adds the real parts (1+2) and imaginary parts (2+3) separately.
Overloading Comparison Operators
Operators like >, <, and == can also be overloaded.
Example 1: This code shows how to overload > operator to compare two objects based on their stored values.
Python class A: def __init__(self, a): self.a = a def __gt__(self, other): return self.a > other.a ob1 = A(2) ob2 = A(3) if ob1 > ob2: print("ob1 is greater than ob2") else: print("ob2 is greater than ob1")

Output
ob2 is greater than ob1
Example 2: This code shows how to overload both < and == operators for custom comparisons.
Python class A: def __init__(self, a): self.a = a def __lt__(self, other): return "ob1 is less than ob2" if self.a < other.a else "ob2 is less than ob1" def __eq__(self, other): return "Both are equal" if self.a == other.a else "Not equal" ob1 = A(2) ob2 = A(3) print(ob1 < ob2) ob3 = A(4) ob4 = A(4) print(ob3 == ob4)

Output
ob1 is less than ob2 Both are equal
Non-Associative Operators
Not all operators can be chained. Some are non-associative. For example, = and += cannot be combined in one statement.
Python a = 5 b = 10 c = 15 # Invalid: mixing assignment (=) and += # a = b = (a < b) += (b < c)
Explanation: In Python, = (assignment) and += (augmented assignment) cannot be mixed in same expression because they are non-associative.
Overloading Boolean Operators
We can also overload Boolean operators using magic methods:
and: __and__(self, other)
or: __or__(self, other)
not: __not__(self)
Example: This code shows how to overload & operator so it works like logical AND on custom objects.
Python class MyClass: def __init__(self, value): self.value = value def __and__(self, other): return MyClass(self.value and other.value) a = MyClass(True) b = MyClass(False) c = a & b print(c.value)

Output
False
Explanation: Here, we redefined & so it works like logical AND for custom objects.
Special (Magic) Methods for Operator Overloading
Python provides specific magic methods for each operator.
Binary Operators
Operator Magic Method
+ __add__(self, other)
- __sub__(self, other)
* __mul__(self, other)
/ __truediv__(self, other)
// __floordiv__(self, other)
% __mod__(self, other)
** __pow__(self, other)
Comparison Operators
Operator Magic Method
< __lt__(self, other)
> __gt__(self, other)
<= __le__(self, other)
>= __ge__(self, other)
== __eq__(self, other)
!= __ne__(self, other)
Assignment Operators
Operator Magic Method
-= __isub__(self, other)
+= __iadd__(self, other)
*= __imul__(self, other)
/= __itruediv__(self, other)
//= __ifloordiv__(self, other)
%= __imod__(self, other)
**= __ipow__(self, other)
Unary Operators
Operator Magic Method
- __neg__(self)
+ __pos__(self)
~ __invert__(self)
Advantages
Overloading operators in custom classes provides several benefits:
Improved readability: code looks natural (e.g., ob1 + ob2 instead of ob1.add(ob2)).
Consistency with built-in types: custom objects behave like integers, strings, etc.
Conciseness: less boilerplate code.
Custom behavior: extend operators to user-defined classes (e.g., vectors, matrices).
Enhanced functionality: enable operators to work meaningfully with new data types.

Create Quiz

Operator Overloading in Python
Visit Course

B

bestharadhakrishna

Improve

B

bestharadhakrishna

Improve

Article Tags :

Python

Python-Operators

Explore

Python Fundamentals
Python Introduction
2 min read
Input and Output in Python
4 min read
Python Variables
4 min read
Python Operators
4 min read
Python Keywords
2 min read
Python Data Types
8 min read
Conditional Statements in Python
3 min read
Loops in Python - For, While and Nested Loops
5 min read
Python Functions
5 min read
Recursion in Python
4 min read
Python Lambda Functions
5 min read
Python Data Structures
Python String
5 min read
Python Lists
4 min read
Python Tuples
4 min read
Python Dictionary
3 min read
Python Sets
6 min read
Python Arrays
7 min read
List Comprehension in Python
4 min read
Advanced Python
Python OOP Concepts
11 min read
Python Exception Handling
5 min read
File Handling in Python
4 min read
Python Database Tutorial
4 min read
Python MongoDB Tutorial
3 min read
Python MySQL
9 min read
Python Packages
10 min read
Python Modules
3 min read
Python DSA Libraries
15 min read
List of Python GUI Library and Packages
3 min read
Data Science with Python
NumPy Tutorial - Python Library
3 min read
Pandas Tutorial
4 min read
Matplotlib Tutorial
5 min read
Python Seaborn Tutorial
3 min read
StatsModel Library - Tutorial
3 min read
Learning Model Building in Scikit-learn
6 min read
TensorFlow Tutorial
2 min read
PyTorch Tutorial
6 min read
Web Development with Python
Flask Tutorial
8 min read
Django Tutorial | Learn Django Framework
7 min read
Django ORM - Inserting, Updating & Deleting Data
4 min read
Templating With Jinja2 in Flask
6 min read
Django Templates
5 min read
Build a REST API using Flask - Python
3 min read
Building a Simple API with Django REST Framework
3 min read
Python Practice
Python Quiz
1 min read
Python Coding Practice
1 min read
Python Interview Questions and Answers
15+ min read

top_of_element && top_of_screen < bottom_of_element) || (bottom_of_screen > articleRecommendedTop && top_of_screen < articleRecommendedBottom) || (top_of_screen > articleRecommendedBottom)) { if (!isfollowingApiCall) { isfollowingApiCall = true; setTimeout(function(){ if (loginData && loginData.isLoggedIn) { if (loginData.userName !== $('#followAuthor').val()) { is_following(); } else { $('.profileCard-profile-picture').css('background-color', '#E7E7E7'); } } else { $('.follow-btn').removeClass('hideIt'); } }, 3000); } } }); } $(".accordion-header").click(function() { var arrowIcon = $(this).find('.bottom-arrow-icon'); arrowIcon.toggleClass('rotate180'); }); }); window.isReportArticle = false; function report_article(){ if (!loginData || !loginData.isLoggedIn) { const loginModalButton = $('.login-modal-btn') if (loginModalButton.length) { loginModalButton.click(); } return; } if(!window.isReportArticle){ //to add loader $('.report-loader').addClass('spinner'); jQuery('#report_modal_content').load(gfgSiteUrl+'wp-content/themes/iconic-one/report-modal.php', { PRACTICE_API_URL: practiceAPIURL, PRACTICE_URL:practiceURL },function(responseTxt, statusTxt, xhr){ if(statusTxt == "error"){ alert("Error: " + xhr.status + ": " + xhr.statusText); } }); }else{ window.scrollTo({ top: 0, behavior: 'smooth' }); $("#report_modal_content").show(); } } function closeShareModal() { const shareOption = document.querySelector('[data-gfg-action="share-article"]'); shareOption.classList.remove("hover_share_menu"); let shareModal = document.querySelector(".hover__share-modal-container"); shareModal && shareModal.remove(); } function openShareModal() { closeShareModal(); // Remove existing modal if any let shareModal = document.querySelector(".three_dot_dropdown_share"); shareModal.appendChild(Object.assign(document.createElement("div"), { className: "hover__share-modal-container" })); document.querySelector(".hover__share-modal-container").append( Object.assign(document.createElement('div'), { className: "share__modal" }), ); document.querySelector(".share__modal").append(Object.assign(document.createElement('h1'), { className: "share__modal-heading" }, { textContent: "Share to" })); const socialOptions = ["LinkedIn", "WhatsApp","Twitter", "Copy Link"]; socialOptions.forEach((socialOption) => { const socialContainer = Object.assign(document.createElement('div'), { className: "social__container" }); const icon = Object.assign(document.createElement("div"), { className: `share__icon share__${socialOption.split(" ").join("")}-icon` }); const socialText = Object.assign(document.createElement("span"), { className: "share__option-text" }, { textContent: `${socialOption}` }); const shareLink = (socialOption === "Copy Link") ? Object.assign(document.createElement('div'), { role: "button", className: "link-container CopyLink" }) : Object.assign(document.createElement('a'), { className: "link-container" }); if (socialOption === "LinkedIn") { shareLink.setAttribute('href', `https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=${window.location.href}`); shareLink.setAttribute('target', '_blank'); } if (socialOption === "WhatsApp") { shareLink.setAttribute('href', `https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=${window.location.href}`); shareLink.setAttribute('target', "_blank"); } if (socialOption === "Twitter") { shareLink.setAttribute('href', `https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=${window.location.href}`); shareLink.setAttribute('target', "_blank"); } shareLink.append(icon, socialText); socialContainer.append(shareLink); document.querySelector(".share__modal").appendChild(socialContainer); //adding copy url functionality if(socialOption === "Copy Link") { shareLink.addEventListener("click", function() { var tempInput = document.createElement("input"); tempInput.value = window.location.href; document.body.appendChild(tempInput); tempInput.select(); tempInput.setSelectionRange(0, 99999); // For mobile devices document.execCommand('copy'); document.body.removeChild(tempInput); this.querySelector(".share__option-text").textContent = "Copied" }) } }); // document.querySelector(".hover__share-modal-container").addEventListener("mouseover", () => document.querySelector('[data-gfg-action="share-article"]').classList.add("hover_share_menu")); } function toggleLikeElementVisibility(selector, show) { document.querySelector(`.${selector}`).style.display = show ? "block" : "none"; } function closeKebabMenu(){ document.getElementById("myDropdown").classList.toggle("show"); }

Corporate & Communications Address:

A-143, 7th Floor, Sovereign Corporate Tower, Sector- 136, Noida, Uttar Pradesh (201305)

Registered Address:
K 061, Tower K, Gulshan Vivante Apartment, Sector 137, Noida, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, 201305

Company
About Us
Legal
Privacy Policy
Contact Us
Advertise with us
GFG Corporate Solution
Campus Training Program
Explore
POTD
Job-A-Thon
Blogs
Nation Skill Up
Tutorials
Programming Languages
DSA
Web Technology
AI, ML & Data Science
DevOps
CS Core Subjects
Interview Preparation
Software and Tools
Courses
ML and Data Science
DSA and Placements
Web Development
Programming Languages
DevOps & Cloud
GATE
Trending Technologies
Videos
DSA
Python
Java
C++
Web Development
Data Science
CS Subjects
Preparation Corner
Interview Corner
Aptitude
Puzzles
GfG 160
System Design

@GeeksforGeeks, Sanchhaya Education Private Limited, All rights reserved

Improvement

Suggest Changes

Help us improve. Share your suggestions to enhance the article. Contribute your expertise and make a difference in the GeeksforGeeks portal.

Create Improvement

Enhance the article with your expertise. Contribute to the GeeksforGeeks community and help create better learning resources for all.

Suggest Changes

min 4 words, max Words Limit:1000

Thank You!

Your suggestions are valuable to us.

What kind of Experience do you want to share?

Interview Experiences

Admission Experiences

Career Journeys

Work Experiences

Campus Experiences

Competitive Exam Experiences