What is the purpose of the 'break' statement?

The 'break' statement is specifically designed to exit from a loop prematurely, which means it allows the program to immediately halt the execution of the loop and move on to the next section of code that follows the loop. This is particularly useful in scenarios where a certain condition is met that makes continuing the loop unnecessary or undesirable. For instance, if you're searching for a specific value in a list and find it, using 'break' can help end the search early, enhancing efficiency.

Other options may describe different functionalities. Skipping the current iteration or continuing to the next iteration in a loop are typically achieved with 'continue' statements, while terminating a program would generally involve different control statements or functions. Understanding how 'break' functions allows programmers to manage the flow of loops effectively.