What is the significance of using the "return" statement in PHP functions?

Using the "return" statement in PHP functions is significant because it allows the function to pass a value back to the code that called it. This is essential for functions to be able to perform a specific task and then provide the result of that task to the rest of the program. Without the "return" statement, functions would not be able to communicate their output to the calling code.

function addNumbers($num1, $num2) {
    $sum = $num1 + $num2;
    return $sum;
}

$result = addNumbers(5, 3);
echo $result; // Output: 8