What is the purpose of the return statement?

Question

What is the simple basic explanation of what the return statement is, how to use it in Python?

And what is the difference between it and the print state

Answer 1

I think a really simple answer might be useful here:

return makes the value (a variable, often) available for use by the caller (for example, to be stored by a function that the function using return is within). Without return, your value or variable wouldn't be available for the caller to store/re-use.

print prints to the screen, but does not make the value or variable available for use by the caller.

(Fully admitting that the more thorough answers are more accurate.)