What does await do in Python?

In Python, the keyword await is used inside asynchronous functions to suspend execution until an asynchronous operation (such as a coroutine, Future, or other awaitable object) completes.

This allows writing asynchronous code that looks like synchronous code but does not block the execution thread.

Example:

import asyncio

async def fetch_data():
    await asyncio.sleep(1)  # simulate an asynchronous operation
    return 'data'

async def main():
    result = await fetch_data()
    print(result)

asyncio.run(main())

Here, await fetch_data() pauses main until fetch_data completes, allowing other tasks to run in the meantime.