reply
Americanverb (used without object)
-
replies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
replied,
past participle, past
-
replying
present participle
-
to make answer in words or writing; answer; respond.
to reply to a question.
- Synonyms:
- rejoin
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to respond by some action, performance, etc..
to reply to the enemy's fire.
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to return a sound; echo; resound.
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Law. to answer a defendant's plea.
verb (used with object)
-
replies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
replied,
past participle, past
-
replying
present participle
verb
-
to make answer (to) in words or writing or by an action; respond
he replied with an unexpected move
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(tr; takes a clause as object) to say (something) in answer
he replied that he didn't want to come
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law to answer a defendant's plea
-
to return (a sound); echo
noun
-
an answer made in words or writing or through an action; response
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the answer made by a plaintiff or petitioner to a defendant's case
Synonym Usage
See answer.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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replysimple
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repliessimple
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have repliedperfect
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has repliedperfect
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am replyingprogressive
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are replyingprogressive
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is replyingprogressive
-
have been replyingperfect progressive
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has been replyingperfect progressive
Past
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repliedsimple
-
had repliedperfect
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was replyingprogressive
-
were replyingprogressive
-
had been replyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of reply
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English replien (verb), from Middle French replier “to fold back, reply,” from Latin replicāre “to unroll, fold back”; see replicate
Explanation
Whenever you say something in response to someone, you reply. If your teacher asks why you're late to school, you might reply, "Sorry, I missed the bus." To answer back or respond is to reply, and whatever you say is also a reply. Your reply could be a long quotation from a Shakespeare soliloquy, or it might be a simple, silent nod of the head. You can also reply using a letter, a text, or an email. Reply comes from the Late Latin replicare, which means both "to reply or repeat," but also "to fold back."
Vocabulary lists containing reply
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:
The 19th reached out to Paxton’s office and Senate campaign, Carlton, the University Health System and the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office for comment, but received no immediate reply.
From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026
In a reply to the resignation tweet heard round the world from Jacob Coxon, another Anthropic engineer declared his belief that those odds were at least 10% over the next decade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
But when a resident asked where the passenger terminal would be, the reply was the US Navy didn't require one.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
There was no reply before he headed off but one minute after he cycled away, a reply landed in his Instagram account.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
“No, I was just curious,” I reply, looking out the window.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
In the replies, Rupar’s followers posted photos of disability devices that are worn around the hips in order to assist people with walking.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2026
Matthews replies: “Um, I think I know how that happened.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Some replies cited absolute bans from doctors or prioritizing their child’s health, while others said they drank the beverages with their physicians’ blessings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
There were too many times where it was clear a chatbot had been used, including “copy-pasted replies that still had the Claude sentence, ‘Should I make that more concise?’” says Spexard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
“No, it’s exactly where I need to be,” Aunt J replies.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
“Ninety-nine percent,” he replied, as Bowen would later report.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
When asked if the House would take action on AI concerns before breaking for the midterms, he replied: "This is a very complex issue."
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
“Zip it, movie lady. It’s TV’s turn tonight,” Hargitay replied.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
The president replied that the U.S. would help with everything except attacks, people familiar with the matter said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
As soon as I replied to Trey that I’d made it home, he video-called me.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Local authorities were "promptly replying" to more than 800 calls from affected relatives, state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
The researchers identified one exception to the finding that replying quickly pays off: If a candidate’s response looks like it was AI-generated, the positive feelings associated with punctuality disappear.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Multiple meetings with us were never kept, and eventually he stopped replying.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
You can also reach us by replying to any newsletter, or by emailing our editors Perry Cleveland-Peck at [email protected] and David Smagalla at [email protected].
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
This would be met by hundreds of voices replying “Njjawethu!”
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
