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Idioms

    answer the helm, Nautical. (of a vessel) to maneuver or remain steady according to the position of the rudder.

Origin of answer

before 900; Middle English andswerien, Old English andswerian, andswarian derivative of andswaru an answer, equivalent to and- opposite, facing (cf. and, along) + Germanic *swarō, derivative of swear
Related formsan·swer·er, nounan·swer·less, adjectiveun·an·swered, adjectiveun·an·swer·ing, adjectivewell-an·swered, adjective

Synonyms for answer

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR answer ON THESAURUS.COM
1. riposte. 6. defense, plea.

Synonym study

1. Answer, rejoinder, reply, response, retort all mean words used to meet a question, remark, charge, etc. An answer is a return remark: an answer giving the desired information. A rejoinder is a quick, usually clever answer or remark made in reply to another's comment, not to a question. Reply usually refers to a direct or point-by-point response to a suggestion, proposal, question, or the like: a reply to a letter. A response often suggests an answer to an appeal, exhortation, etc., or an expected or fixed reply: a response to inquiry; a response in a church service. A retort implies a keen, prompt answer, especially one that turns a remark upon the person who made it: a sharp retort.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for answer for

explain, justify
British Dictionary definitions for answer for

answer for

verb (intr, preposition)

to be liable or responsible for (a person's actions, behaviour, etc)
to vouch for or speak on behalf of (a person)
to suffer or atone for (one's wrongdoing)

answer

noun

a reply, either spoken or written, as to a question, request, letter, or article
a reaction or response in the form of an actiondrunkenness was his answer to disappointment
a solution, esp of a mathematical problem
law
  1. a party's written reply to his opponent's interrogatories
  2. (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

verb

(when tr, may take a clause as object) to reply or respond (to) by word or actto answer a question; he answered; to answer the door; he answered that he would come
(tr) to reply correctly to; solve or attempt to solveI 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)

Word Origin for answer

Old English andswaru an answer; related to Old Frisian ondser, Old Norse andsvar; see swear
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for answer for

answer

n.

Old English andswaru "an answer, a reply," from and- "against" (see ante) + -swaru "affirmation," from swerian "to swear" (see swear), suggesting an original sense of "make a sworn statement rebutting a charge." A common Germanic compound (cf. Old Saxon antswor, Old Norse andsvar, Old Frisian ondser, Danish and Swedish ansvar), implying a Proto-Germanic *andswara-. Meaning "a reply to a question," the main modern sense, was present in Old English. Meaning "solution of a problem" is from c.1300.

answer

v.

Old English answarian "to answer;" see answer (n.). Meaning "to respond in antiphony" is from early 15c.; that of "to be responsible for" is early 13c. Related: Answered; answering. The telephone answering machine is from 1961.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with answer for

answer for

1

Take responsibility for, take charge of, as in The new alarm system has to answer for the security of the grounds. [Late 1200s]

2

Take the blame for, as in The kids who were caught shoplifting have a lot to answer for. [c. 1200]

3

To vouch for or sponsor someone, as in I'll answer for John as a reliable employee. [Early 1700s]

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.