What do parentheses mean in numerical expression?

In a numerical expression, parentheses indicate that the operations within them should be performed first, according to the order of operations (PEMDAS/BODMAS rules). This prioritization helps clarify calculations and can significantly alter the result if not applied. For example, in the expression (2 \times (3 + 4)), you would first calculate (3 + 4) before multiplying by 2, yielding a different result than if the parentheses were not used.