What is the purpose of the 'return' statement in a function?

The purpose of the 'return' statement in a function is to send back a value from that function to its caller. When a function is executed, it may perform a variety of operations, but if it needs to provide a result to the part of the program that invoked it, the 'return' statement is used. This allows the function to complete its execution while passing along data, such as numbers, strings, or any object type, to the caller.

For example, if you have a function that adds two numbers together, using the 'return' statement allows you to take the sum and make it available for further use by the calling code. This feature is essential for modular programming, as it creates a clear interface for how functions interact with each other by sending values back and forth. It also allows the caller to capture and work with the returned result, fostering better organization and reusability of code.