response

American  

[ri-spons] / rɪˈspɒns /

noun

• responses
  plural

1. an answer or reply, as in words or in some action.

   Synonyms:

   rejoinder

2. Biology. any behavior of a living organism that results from an external or internal stimulus.

3. Ecclesiastical.

   1. a verse, sentence, phrase, or word said or sung by the choir or congregation in reply to the officiant.

   2. responsory.

4. Bridge. a bid based on an evaluation of one's hand relative to the previous bid of one's partner.

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response British  

/ rɪˈspɒns /

noun

1. the act of responding; reply or reaction

2. bridge a bid replying to a partner's bid or double

3. (usually plural) Christianity a short sentence or phrase recited or sung by the choir or congregation in reply to the officiant at a church service

4. electronics the ratio of the output to the input level, at a particular frequency, of a transmission line or electrical device

5. any pattern of glandular, muscular, or electrical reactions that arises from stimulation of the nervous system

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response Scientific  

/ rĭ-spŏns′ /

1. A reaction, as that of an organism or any of its parts, to a specific stimulus.

2. See more at classical conditioning

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Synonym Usage

See answer.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• counterresponse
  noun
• responseless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• responses
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of response

First recorded in 1250–1300; from Latin respōnsum, noun use of neuter past participle of respondēre “to reply, answer”; replacing Middle English respounse, from Middle French respons, from Latin, as above; see respond

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Explanation

A response is a reaction to a question, experience, or some other type of stimulus. If you cry at sad movies, you're having an emotional response to the drama that's taking place on the screen. A response can come in many forms, including an answer to a question, an emotional reaction, or a reply. If a teacher asks, "Who invented the phonograph?" She hopes her students will give her the response, "Why, Thomas Edison, of course!" When a parent tells a child not to cross the street when the light is red, he hopes the response will be compliance.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

response responses

“At each stage of this election, and in response to the Department of Justice, we have been clear that state and federal law sets well-defined standards for verifying and challenging voter eligibility,” Logan said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2026

"Equipple recently identified unauthorised access to part of its cloud-hosted environment and immediately activated its incident response procedures," they said.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

“Congratulate you for what? Repeat that,” came the response of a concerned and confused Naum.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Critics have said the response was too lenient.

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026

The only way to communicate was in person, so workers had to carry messages back and forth between the emergency response center and the control rooms.

From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland

That makes the vehicle perhaps the clearest case yet for voice-based AI, and for running it on the device; cell connections are spotty, and responses need to be instant.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

While an artist should avoid burdening themselves with hypothetical responses to their work before it’s even out in the world, considering the eventual reaction is worthwhile.

From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2026

Some responses to the wreckage can be undertaken through new leadership.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026

Receptors are specialized proteins that respond to particular chemical signals, allowing cells to detect messages and trigger appropriate biological responses.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 4, 2026

Bogert stated as much, in an extreme of unshown annoyance after having listened to each set of replies, made lists of word deviations, and graphs of the intervals of responses.

From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov

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Related Words

• feedback
• reply
• return

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