44. The return Statement

The return statement is used to send a value back from a function, allowing the calling code to use the result of the function's execution.

How return Works

1. It stops the function execution immediately.
2. It sends the specified value back to the caller.

Example: Calculating and Returning

javascript function calculateTax(amount) { const taxRate = 0.10; const tax = amount * taxRate; return tax;

// Any code below return is unreachable and ignored
// console.log('This will not execute');

}

let purchaseTotal = 200; let taxDue = calculateTax(purchaseTotal);

console.log(Tax owed: $${taxDue}); // Output: Tax owed: $20

Functions Without return

If a function does not contain an explicit return statement, it implicitly returns undefined.