How do I approach Coding & Algorithms interview questions?

Coding & Algorithms questions require understanding of core concepts and practice. PracHub provides solutions with explanations to help you master coding & algorithms interviews.

What difficulty level is this interview question?

This is a Medium difficulty Coding & Algorithms question, commonly asked during Onsite rounds at PayPal.

What role is this question designed for?

This question is commonly asked for Data Scientist candidates at PayPal during technical interviews.

Count Word Frequency and Print Top Three Words

Last updated: Mar 29, 2026

Quick Overview

This question evaluates proficiency in basic Python programming, string/text processing, frequency counting and sorting algorithms, reflecting core competencies for data manipulation tasks.

Medium
PayPal
Coding & Algorithms
Data Scientist

PayPal

Aug 4, 2025, 10:55 AM

Data Scientist

Onsite

Coding & Algorithms

Scenario

First-round Python coding screening

Question

Using only basic Python, write a function that receives a list of strings and returns a dictionary mapping each unique word to its frequency. Then print the three most frequent words in descending order.

Hints

Build dict with a for-loop; sort by value to get top-3.

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