Creating Anonymous Functions with lambda

Suppose you need a tiny function just once — writing a full def feels like overkill.
That’s when Python’s lambda comes in handy: quick, anonymous functions in one line.

Basic example

add = lambda x, y: x + y
print(add(2, 3))

# 5

With higher-order functions

nums = [1, 2, 3, 4]
squares = list(map(lambda x: x**2, nums))
print(squares)

# [1, 4, 9, 16]

As a key in sorting

words = ["apple", "banana", "kiwi"]
sorted_words = sorted(words, key=lambda w: len(w))
print(sorted_words)

# ['kiwi', 'apple', 'banana']

Conclusion

• Use lambda for small, inline functions.
• Keep them simple — for more complex logic, use def.