The super() function in Python is used to call a method from a parent class inside a subclass, allowing for efficient code reuse and maintaining the method resolution order (MRO) in inheritance. It is commonly used in the __init__ method of a subclass to initialize attributes from the parent class without explicitly referring to its name, making the code more maintainable and adaptable to future changes. This is particularly useful in multiple inheritance, where super() ensures that each parent class is properly initialized according to the MRO, preventing duplicate method calls. For example, in a subclass Child inheriting from Parent, calling super().__init__() invokes the __init__ method of Parent. By using super(), developers can write cleaner and more scalable object-oriented programs while ensuring proper method execution across the inheritance hierarchy.