answer for
Britishverb
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to be liable or responsible for (a person's actions, behaviour, etc)
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to vouch for or speak on behalf of (a person)
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to suffer or atone for (one's wrongdoing)
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Take responsibility for, take charge of, as in The new alarm system has to answer for the security of the grounds . [Late 1200s]
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Take the blame for, as in The kids who were caught shoplifting have a lot to answer for . [c. 1200]
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To vouch for or sponsor someone, as in I'll answer for John as a reliable employee . [Early 1700s]
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.
In response to the student movement, Lecornu said "the difficulties of high schools must be heard and addressed", but that "violence must be condemned unequivocally, and its perpetrators must answer for their actions".
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
The challenge is that AI sits between these cases in an awkward way: It resembles the colleague in what it can do and the ventilator in what it can answer for.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
On Thursday, that officer was released from jail, and it’s likely he may never have to answer for his charges in court.
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026
I think the filmmaker has an answer for himself, but he’d rather ask how we feel about it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Stacy gave Amanda a second to answer for herself, but Amanda simply dipped her brush in the red paint and silently swiped it along the fence.
From "Pony Problems: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #3" by Carolyn Keene
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.
