Hoisting is a JavaScript mechanism where variables and function declarations are moved to the top of their containing scope during the compilation phase, before the code is executed. This means that regardless of where variables and functions are declared within a scope, they are accessible throughout that entire scope. Hoisting applies to both variable declarations ( var , let , and const ) and function declarations. However, it's important to note that only the declarations are hoisted, not the initializations. Here's how hoisting works for variables declared with var : console.log(x); // Output: undefined var x = 5; console.log(x); // Output: 5 During the compilation phase, the variable declaration var x; is hoisted to the top of its containing scope. At runtime, the assignment x = 5; occurs as usual. When console.log(x); is executed, x exists in the scope, but it hasn't been assigned a value yet, so it logs undefined . However, hoisting works differently for varia...