answer back
Britishverb
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sometimes I answer back, even though I don’t think it cares too much.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025
Plenty would think this unfair on the civil service, which has often found itself a scapegoat for failings of politicians but cannot publicly answer back.
From BBC • Dec. 5, 2024
She devises a way to beam them better, and gets an answer back, though not the answer anyone would expect.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2024
By the time he asks, “Can I get a Chaka Khan?” it’s impossible not to answer back.
From New York Times • Dec. 2, 2022
He talked about what he would do to me, and I had promptly put an answer back on the wire.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.