The break statement in C++ is used to exit from a loop or a switch statement prematurely. When executed, it terminates the nearest enclosing loop or switch statement and transfers control to the statement following the loop or switch block.
break;
The break statement does not return any value; it simply transfers control out of the current loop or switch statement.
The break statement does not return any value; it simply transfers control out of the current loop or switch statement.
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main() {
for (int i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {
if (i == 5) {
break; // Exit the loop when
i is 5
}
cout << "i = " << i << endl;
}
cout << "Loop terminated." << endl;
return 0;
}
i = 0
i = 1
i = 2
i = 3
i = 4
Loop terminated.
In this example, the loop breaks when i equals 5, so the loop terminates before i reaches 10.
When using break in nested loops, it only affects the innermost loop where it is used. The outer loops continue to execute as normal.
In this example, the break statement is used within the inner loop, causing only the inner loop to terminate:
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main() {
for (int i = 0; i < 3; ++i) {
cout << "Outer loop iteration: " << i
<< endl;
for (int j = 0; j < 3; ++j) {
if (j == 1) {
break;
// Exit only the inner loop when j is 1
}
cout << " Inner loop
iteration: " << j << endl;
}
}
return 0;
}
Outer loop iteration: 0
Inner loop iteration: 0
Outer loop iteration: 1
Inner loop iteration: 0
Outer loop iteration: 2
Inner loop iteration: 0