Python Lambda Functions Explained Simply

If you’re relatively newer to Python, you might be confused or intimidated by these fancy-sounding and fancy-looking stuff known as lambda functions. I’m here to tell you that there is nothing to be intimidated about!

Here’s a Normal Function

def add(a, b):
    return a + b

The add function takes in 2 arguments, and adds them together before returning it.

x = add(4, 5)
print(x)
# this prints 9

If we call the function and pass 2 integer arguments inside, we get the sum of the 2 arguments a and b.

Here’s a Lambda Function

add2 = lambda a,b: a+b 

This is a lambda function, and this does the exact same thing as the add function defined previously.

x = add2(4,5)
print(x)
# this also prints 9

Simply put, you can think of a lambda function as a normal function, but written in a different way

Syntax of a Lambda Function

lambda a,b : a+b

There are 4 parts to a lambda function:

1. The lambda keyword
2. The input arguments