answer

American  

[an-ser, ahn-] / ˈæn sər, ˈɑn- /

noun

• answers
  plural

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.

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verb (used without object)

• answers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• answered,
  past participle,  past
• answering
  present participle

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)

• answers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• answered,
  past participle,  past
• answering
  present participle

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.

idioms

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

answer British  

/ 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

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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)

answer More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing answer

• know all the answers
• take no for an answer

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Usage

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.

Synonym Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• answers
  plural

Participles

• answering
  present
• answered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• answer
  simple
• answers
  simple
• have answered
  perfect
• has answered
  perfect
• am answering
  progressive
• are answering
  progressive
• is answering
  progressive
• have been answering
  perfect progressive
• has been answering
  perfect progressive

Past

• answered
  simple
• had answered
  perfect
• was answering
  progressive
• were answering
  progressive
• had been answering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will answer
  simple
• will have answered
  perfect
• will be answering
  progressive
• will have been answering
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of answer

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

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Explanation

An answer is a response to a question, problem, or need. If you don’t get enough sleep, quitting your late-night TV habit might be the answer. Answer, which can be a noun or a verb, comes from the Old English for swear, and the word originally meant an official, sworn response to a legal charge. We don’t have to be sworn in when we answer a question, however, we just need to reply. Answer also means "solution." Is the answer to poverty better education? If you meet a requirement, you answer it. If you are obligated to someone, you answer to him.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

answer answers answered answering

"I don't know if it was a deliberate trap. Because who would answer 'I don't like working with people'?"

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

“The candidates ... that can answer those things authentically and well for the voter,” he said, are “going to be the more successful” ones.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

Public companies answer to the Securities and Exchange Commission and to auditors overseen by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

In 2020, the heads of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google were called to answer for their market dominance.

From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026

Then, without waiting for his answer, she said to me, “Leave that and help with the tea.”

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

The university engaged more aggressively with parents, in addition to an already-deployed chatbot that answers registration questions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Victoria Neale, who represented George's family, said the inquest provided his loved ones with "important answers" and provided a "degree of accountability".

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

Added Jefferies trading-desk analyst Jeffrey Favuzza: “Many more questions than answers right now.”

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026

“We still deserve answers about why he was shot, how the ICE agents involved conducted themselves, and whether those agents faced any disciplinary action for their dangerous and aggressive conduct,” Torres said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

Tansy was directing all her answers straight at him now.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

More than 200 emergency responders answered a 911 call at a wooden row house in Sunset Park early Thursday morning.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

In the end, this will be the most important question to be answered.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2026

The study, which examined eight models, also found that chatbots answered questions about voting logistics incorrectly more often than questions about candidates.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026

Police in Northern Ireland handle 30,000 mental health calls every year, or about 80 a day on average - but a major new policy will see a significant change in how those calls are answered.

From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026

Like Mary Redfield, they came anticipating a bit of nighttime fun, until the raps correctly answered personal questions about family members, living and dead.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

The hybrid’s demeanor is more citified, answering throttle demand with an electric-enhanced alacrity and seizing every opportunity to go quiet and save energy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026

The company uses human-sounding voice AI agents to handle many tasks from answering calls to serving as virtual assistants.

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026

To investigate the role of facial movements, the researchers created computer-generated speakers representing two cultural backgrounds answering questions.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

Be wary of calling the number back or answering calls from unknown numbers.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026

Roz spent that day with her family, exploring the island and answering questions from the curious goslings.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown

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Related Words

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