A programming statement that ends the execution of a function and optionally sends a value back to the code that called the function. Return statements allow functions to produce output that can be used elsewhere in the program.
From Old French 'retorner' meaning to turn back or go back. The concept of returning to a previous state or location translated naturally to programming in the 1950s, where functions 'return' both control and optionally a value to the calling code.
Return is like a boomerang - you throw it out (call a function), it does its thing in the air (executes code), and then comes back to you (returns a value). Some boomerangs come back empty-handed, others bring you a prize - just like some functions return values and others just do work and return nothing!
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