Operator precedence defines the order in which operations are performed when evaluating an expression. In Python, certain operators are evaluated before others. For example, in the expression 1 + 2 * 3
, multiplication (*
) has higher precedence than addition (+
), so 2 * 3
is evaluated first, followed by 1 + 6
, resulting in 7
.
Understanding operator precedence is essential for accurately interpreting and writing Python code. It dictates how complex expressions are evaluated and helps prevent logical errors.