answer
a spoken or written reply or response to a question, request, letter, etc.:He sent an answer to my letter promptly.
a correct response to a question asked to test one's knowledge.
an equivalent or approximation: The band tried to be the French answer to the Beatles.
an action serving as a reply or response: The answer was a volley of fire.
a solution to a problem, especially in mathematics.
a reply to a charge or accusation.
Law. a pleading in which a party responds to the opponent's statement of position, especially the defendant's reply to the plaintiff's complaint.
Music. the entrance of a fugue subject, usually on the dominant, either slightly altered or transposed exactly after each presentation in the tonic.
to speak or write in response; make answer; reply.
to respond by an act or motion: He answered with a nod.The champion answered with a right to the jaw.
to act or suffer in consequence of (usually followed by for).
to be or declare oneself responsible or accountable (usually followed by for): I will answer for his safety.
to be satisfactory or serve (usually followed by for): His cane answered for a baseball bat.
to conform; correspond (usually followed by to): The prisoner answered to the description issued by the police.
to speak or write in response to; reply to: to answer a person;to answer a question.
to act or move in response to: Answer the doorbell. We answered their goal with two quick goals of our own.
to solve or present a solution of.
to serve or fulfill: This will answer the purpose.
to discharge (a responsibility, claim, debt, etc.).
to conform or correspond to; be similar or equivalent to: This dog answers your description.
to atone for; make amends for.
to reply or respond favorably to: I would like to answer your request but am unable to do so.
answer back, to reply impertinently or rudely: Well-behaved children do not answer back when scolded.
Idioms about answer
answer the helm, Nautical. (of a vessel) to maneuver or remain steady according to the position of the rudder.
Origin of answer
1synonym study For answer
word story For answer
Other words for answer
Other words from answer
- an·swer·er, noun
- an·swer·less, adjective
- un·an·swered, adjective
- un·an·swer·ing, adjective
- well-answered, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use answer in a sentence
Lucas answered immediately when asked why he wanted to join the NYPD.
My wife answered and thought it was a friend impersonating the governor.
If you answered nine or more, you may have won a SONY Betamax and an eight-track operating system.
If you answered seven or more of these correctly, you are eligible for a lifetime supply of Metamucil.
I answered that I had gone and talked to many members of law enforcement who through their investigations understood these links.
ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Growing Role of Human Trafficking in 21st Century Terrorism | Louise I. Shelley | December 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The Princess still kept her eyes fixed on Louis, while, in a suppressed and unsteady voice, she answered her governess.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane Porter"A camp-fire would hardly flash and die out like that, Sarge," he answered thoughtfully.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairAnswered Elizabeth, hardly attempting to conceal her scornful doubt of his sincerity.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane PorterIt seemed rather strange to be spoken to by a cab-horse, but Davy answered that he was feeling quite well.
Davy and The Goblin | Charles E. Carryl"Yes, Alessandro," she answered faintly, the gusts sweeping her voice like a distant echo past him.
Ramona | Helen Hunt Jackson
British Dictionary definitions for answer
/ (ˈɑːnsə) /
a reply, either spoken or written, as to a question, request, letter, or article
a reaction or response in the form of an action: drunkenness was his answer to disappointment
a solution, esp of a mathematical problem
law
a party's written reply to his opponent's interrogatories
(in divorce law) the respondent's written reply to the petition
a musical phrase that follows the subject of a fugue, reproducing it a fifth higher or a fourth lower
(when tr, may take a clause as object) to reply or respond (to) by word or act: to answer a question; he answered; to answer the door; he answered that he would come
(tr) to reply correctly to; solve or attempt to solve: I could answer only three questions
(intr usually foll by to) to respond or react (to a stimulus, command, etc): the steering answers to the slightest touch
(tr) to pay off (a debt, obligation, etc); discharge
(when intr, often foll by for) to meet the requirements (of); be satisfactory (for); serve the purpose (of): this will answer his needs; this will answer for a chisel
(when intr, often foll by to) to match or correspond (esp in the phrase answer (or answer to) the description)
(tr) to give a defence or refutation of (a charge) or in (an argument)
Origin of answer
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with answer
In addition to the idioms beginning with answer
- answer back
- answer for
- answer to
also see:
- know all the answers
- take no for an answer
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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