A switch statement is a programming construct that allows you to execute different blocks of code based on the value of a variable. Instead of using multiple if-else statements, a switch statement provides a cleaner and more organized way to handle multiple conditions. Each possible value of the variable is matched against a case, and when a match is found, the corresponding code block runs. For example, if you have a variable representing a day of the week, you can use a switch statement to execute different actions for each day. This makes your code easier to read and maintain, especially when dealing with many conditions.