What is the return type of the `map()` method in JavaScript?

The map() method in JavaScript is designed to create a new array populated with the results of calling a provided function on every element in the calling array. As such, the return type of the map() method is an array.

When you invoke map() on an array, it executes the provided callback function for each element in the array, collects the returned values, and constructs a new array from those values. For example, if you have an array of numbers and use map() to square each number, the resulting array will contain the squares of those numbers, thus returning an array as the end result.

This characteristic explains why the return type is specifically an array, making it distinct from other types such as strings, numbers, or objects, which do not relate to the function or purpose of the map() method.