answer
Americannoun
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answers
plural
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a spoken or written reply or response to a question, request, letter, etc..
He sent an answer to my letter promptly.
- Synonyms:
- riposte
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a correct response to a question asked to test one's knowledge.
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an equivalent or approximation.
The band tried to be the French answer to the Beatles.
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an action serving as a reply or response.
The answer was a volley of fire.
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a solution to a problem, especially in mathematics.
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a reply to a charge or accusation.
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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.
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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)
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answers,
present (3rd person singular)
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answered,
past participle, past
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answering
present participle
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to speak or write in response; make answer; reply.
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to respond by an act or motion.
He answered with a nod.
The champion answered with a right to the jaw.
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to act or suffer in consequence of (usually followed byfor ).
-
to be or declare oneself responsible or accountable (usually followed byfor ).
I will answer for his safety.
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to be satisfactory or serve (usually followed byfor ).
His cane answered for a baseball bat.
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to conform; correspond (usually followed byto ).
The prisoner answered to the description issued by the police.
verb (used with object)
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answers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
answered,
past participle, past
-
answering
present participle
-
to speak or write in response to; reply to.
to answer a person;
to answer a question.
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to act or move in response to.
Answer the doorbell. We answered their goal with two quick goals of our own.
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to solve or present a solution of.
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to serve or fulfill.
This will answer the purpose.
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to discharge (a responsibility, claim, debt, etc.).
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to conform or correspond to; be similar or equivalent to.
This dog answers your description.
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to atone for; make amends for.
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to reply or respond favorably to.
I would like to answer your request but am unable to do so.
verb phrase
idioms
noun
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a reply, either spoken or written, as to a question, request, letter, or article
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a reaction or response in the form of an action
drunkenness was his answer to disappointment
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a solution, esp of a mathematical problem
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law
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a party's written reply to his opponent's interrogatories
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(in divorce law) the respondent's written reply to the petition
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-
a musical phrase that follows the subject of a fugue, reproducing it a fifth higher or a fourth lower
verb
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(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
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(tr) to reply correctly to; solve or attempt to solve
I could answer only three questions
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to respond or react (to a stimulus, command, etc)
the steering answers to the slightest touch
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(tr) to pay off (a debt, obligation, etc); discharge
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to meet the requirements (of); be satisfactory (for); serve the purpose (of)
this will answer his needs
this will answer for a chisel
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to match or correspond (esp in the phrase answer (or answer to ) the description )
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(tr) to give a defence or refutation of (a charge) or in (an argument)
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
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answerernoun
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answerlessadjective
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unansweredadjective
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unansweringadjective
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well-answeredadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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answersimple
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answerssimple
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have answeredperfect
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has answeredperfect
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am answeringprogressive
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are answeringprogressive
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is answeringprogressive
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have been answeringperfect progressive
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has been answeringperfect progressive
Past
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answeredsimple
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had answeredperfect
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was answeringprogressive
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were answeringprogressive
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had been answeringperfect progressive
Future
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
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.
Vocabulary lists containing answer
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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.
See Examples For:
First author Michelle Kueppers, a postdoctoral scholar in Moerner's laboratory, explained that combining the strengths of different imaging approaches could help scientists answer previously inaccessible questions.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026
But every time I wake my phone to perform one of these little tasks, I’m also opening the door to everything else it contains: emails, notifications, messages I wasn’t planning to answer over lunch.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
"Do you think the NRL is far better now than four years ago? Then you have the answer."
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
Brands including Fender and Marshall are producing video with both human viewers and AI answer engines in mind.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
I ask the question, even though I know the answer.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Those seeking clear answers will leave with nothing more than new questions, but that’s the glorious part of “You Can See Everything.”
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026
To solve this problem, Matos has drawn on his time in China for answers.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
A mother’s search for answers about her son’s death takes on supernatural stakes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
An assistant might examine more documents, check its answers more thoroughly or complete longer assignments.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
But the house didn’t hold any answers, and nor did anyone else, so I had to try to stop thinking about it.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
This week in the Fix My Portfolio column, Beth Pinsker answered questions from a woman who, alongside her husband, has prepared carefully for retirement, with several sources of income.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
“Yes, but not very far,” the man answered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
He answered my phone call in South Carolina, while overlooking the Atlantic Ocean; his mother was on the precipice of getting married a second time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
Zacharia held her first White House press briefing on Tuesday with an unusually short press conference where she answered questions from three journalists.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
“I wish I could say she is,” Mom answered.
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
The aunt, who asked not to be identified, said her sister has been encouraging the girl "to just ask questions and just answering them as they come up."
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
Despite answering his critics with those standout statistics, the impact of his playing style on the dynamic of the team continues to come under scrutiny.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
By revealing how complex alien atmospheres can be understood from faint changes in light, this new approach could help scientists take another step toward answering that question.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026
This was all on top of questions about whether she was actually an attorney, a simple question that she had a difficult time answering.
From Slate ● Oct. 17, 2026
He wasn't answering her starposts or teaching classes.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
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