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Is it possible to get the 'nth' return value from a function without having to create dummy variables for all n-1 return values before it? Let's say, I have the following function in MATLAB: function [a,b,c,d] = func() a = 1; b = 2; c = 3; d = 4; Now suppose, I'm only interested in the third return value. This can be accomplished by creating one dummy variable: [dummy, dummy, variableThatIWillUse, dummy] = func; clear dummy; But I think this is kind of ugly . I would think that you might be able to do something like one of the following things, but you can't: [_, _, variableThatIWillUse, _] = func; [, , variableThatIWillUse, ] = func; variableThatIWillUse = func(3); variableThatIWillUse = func()(3); Are there any elegant ways to do this that do work? So far, the best solution is to simply use the variableThatIWillUse as a dummy variable. This saves me from having to create a real dummy variable that pollutes the work-space (or that I would need to clear). In short: the solution is to use the variableThatIWillUse for every return value up until the interesting one. Return values after can simply be ignored: [variableThatIWillUse, variableThatIWillUse, variableThatIWillUse] = func; I still think this is very ugly code.

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