answer

[an-ser, ahn-]

noun

1. a spoken or written reply or response to a question, request, letter, etc..

   He sent an answer to my letter promptly.

   Synonyms: riposte

2. a correct response to a question asked to test one's knowledge.

3. an equivalent or approximation.

   The band tried to be the French answer to the Beatles.

4. an action serving as a reply or response.

   The answer was a volley of fire.

5. a solution to a problem, especially in mathematics.

6. a reply to a charge or accusation.

   Synonyms: plea, defense

7. 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.

8. Music.,  the entrance of a fugue subject, usually on the dominant, either slightly altered or transposed exactly after each presentation in the tonic.

verb (used without object)

1. to speak or write in response; make answer; reply.

2. to respond by an act or motion.

   He answered with a nod.

   The champion answered with a right to the jaw.

3. to act or suffer in consequence of (usually followed byfor ).

4. to be or declare oneself responsible or accountable (usually followed byfor ).

   I will answer for his safety.

5. to be satisfactory or serve (usually followed byfor ).

   His cane answered for a baseball bat.

6. to conform; correspond (usually followed byto ).

   The prisoner answered to the description issued by the police.

verb (used with object)

1. to speak or write in response to; reply to.

   to answer a person;

   to answer a question.

2. to act or move in response to.

   Answer the doorbell. We answered their goal with two quick goals of our own.

3. to solve or present a solution of.

4. to serve or fulfill.

   This will answer the purpose.

5. to discharge (a responsibility, claim, debt, etc.).

6. to conform or correspond to; be similar or equivalent to.

   This dog answers your description.

7. to atone for; make amends for.

8. to reply or respond favorably to.

   I would like to answer your request but am unable to do so.

verb phrase

1. answer back,  to reply impertinently or rudely.

   Well-behaved children do not answer back when scolded.

answer

/ ˈɑːnsə /

noun

1. a reply, either spoken or written, as to a question, request, letter, or article

2. a reaction or response in the form of an action

   drunkenness was his answer to disappointment

3. a solution, esp of a mathematical problem

4. law

   1. a party's written reply to his opponent's interrogatories

   2. (in divorce law) the respondent's written reply to the petition

5. a musical phrase that follows the subject of a fugue, reproducing it a fifth higher or a fourth lower

verb

1. (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

2. (tr) to reply correctly to; solve or attempt to solve

   I could answer only three questions

3. to respond or react (to a stimulus, command, etc)

   the steering answers to the slightest touch

4. (tr) to pay off (a debt, obligation, etc); discharge

5. to meet the requirements (of); be satisfactory (for); serve the purpose (of)

   this will answer his needs

   this will answer for a chisel

6. to match or correspond (esp in the phrase answer (or answer to ) the description )

7. (tr) to give a defence or refutation of (a charge) or in (an argument)

Other Word Forms

• answerer noun
• answerless adjective
• unanswered adjective
• unanswering adjective
• well-answered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of answer¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English andswerien, Old English andswerian, andswarian, derivative of andswaru “an answer,” equivalent to and- “opposite, facing” ( and, along ) + unattested Germanic swarō, derivative of swear

Word History and Origins

Origin of answer¹

Old English andswaru an answer; related to Old Frisian ondser, Old Norse andsvar; see _swear

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

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

More idioms and phrases containing answer

• know all the answers
• take no for an answer

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

The answer hinges on the application of what’s known as the “major questions doctrine,” which limits presidential authority over issues of great economic or policy importance in the absence of direct endorsement from Congress.

From Salon

The previously unbeaten Trojans nearly overcame their problems by taking a late lead, but the Illini answer with a field goal as time expires.

From Los Angeles Times

The French prosecutor's office said the captain was unable to give a coherent answer about the flag the ship was carrying.

From BBC

"There simply are no easy answers and we look forward to all of the complexities being fully ventilated in this module," she said.

From BBC

Via AfP, I offered Clancy an opportunity to respond to analyses of his article by Gaba and others, but got no answer.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• comment 
• explanation 
• feedback 
• interpretation 
• justification 
• key 
• observation 
• rebuttal 
• remark 
• report 
• resolution 
• response 
• result 
• return 
• sign 
• solution 
• statement 

When To Use

Spelling tips for answer

The word answer is hard to spell because the w is silent. Answer is pronounced [ an-ser ]. How to spell answer: First, remember that answer has a silent w. To remember that you should place the silent w immediately after the s, remember that you can abbreviate silent w as sw.