return
In JavaScript, the return keyword ends the current function call and sends a value back to the caller. A bare return; returns undefined, and so does a function body that finishes without reaching a return. The statement is allowed only inside a function body, so a return at the top level of a script or ES module is a SyntaxError.
In an async function, the returned value resolves the promise the call produced. In a generator, return finishes the generator, and .next() reports the value with done: true. An arrow function with an expression body returns that expression without the keyword. Inside a try block, a finally block runs before the function actually returns.
The expression must start on the same line as return. With a line break after the keyword, automatic semicolon insertion ends the statement there, and the function returns undefined.
JavaScript return Keyword Syntax
A return statement can appear with or without a value:
return;
return <expression>;
JavaScript return Keyword Examples
An early return ends the call before any discount is calculated:
> function getDiscount(total) {
… if (total < 50) {
… return 0;
… }
… return total * 0.1;
… }
undefined
> getDiscount(30)
0
> getDiscount(120)
12
The early return ends the call for small totals, so the second return runs only for totals of 50 or more.
A line break right after return changes what the function returns:
> function getGreeting() {
… return
… "Hello, Ada!";
… }
undefined
> getGreeting()
undefined
JavaScript return Keyword Use Cases
- Sending a computed result back to the caller
- Exiting a function early when an input is invalid or a result is already known
- Ending a loop and its function at once from inside the loop body
- Finishing a generator with a final value
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By Leodanis Pozo Ramos • Updated Nov. 4, 2026
