reply
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to make answer in words or writing; answer; respond.
to reply to a question.
- Synonyms:
- rejoin
-
to respond by some action, performance, etc..
to reply to the enemy's fire.
-
to return a sound; echo; resound.
-
Law. to answer a defendant's plea.
verb (used with object)
verb
-
to make answer (to) in words or writing or by an action; respond
he replied with an unexpected move
-
(tr; takes a clause as object) to say (something) in answer
he replied that he didn't want to come
-
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
-
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
-
replysimple
-
repliessimple
-
have repliedperfect
-
has repliedperfect
-
am replyingprogressive
-
are replyingprogressive
-
is replyingprogressive
-
have been replyingperfect progressive
-
has been replyingperfect progressive
Past
-
repliedsimple
-
had repliedperfect
-
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 Bahraini government didn’t reply to requests for comment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Saka's reply could hardly have been more emphatic.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Sunnyvale hasn’t answered the lawsuit yet and didn’t reply to a request for comment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Controlled Thermal Resources attorney Suzanne Varco said that the company reached out to 26 area tribes in 2021 and received no reply.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
I reply, refusing to let her get to me.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
To which she replies in savvy screwball fashion worthy of Carole Lombard: “Be sure of that — two other husbands.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Now her Reddit comment history is full of replies to posts about infant loss and avoidant partners, offering advice, support, and stories of her own experience.
From Slate ● Jul. 19, 2026
The site uses crowd-sourced information from its users and analytics to track employer replies to job applicants, according to Baxamoosa.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
In GPT-5, the company said, sycophantic replies dropped from 14.5% to less than 6%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
“You can see them because I’m allowing you to. I could lower the veil and you’d think we’re in an empty house that rattles and is still ‘settling,’ ” Lou replies.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
The nominee replied: “Not in this context. I’m not a biologist.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Claude replied that delaying benefits might make sense.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
“Because we don’t think there was a conflict, Lesley, that’s why,” Witkoff replied.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
"Don't worry about the dog, just answer the question," replied journalist Sarah Ferguson, who was grilling Joyce on his party leader Pauline Hanson's recent meeting with far-right British figurehead Tommy Robinson.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
Duane replied, neither addressing the caribou nor even looking in her direction.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
Curiously, a number of people on X, replying to Elliott’s tweet, seemed to think this would be negative for TIPS.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Not replying to a phone call within a few hours may cause resentment.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
When asked what he would do if future investigation findings were not in his son's favour, he paused before replying.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
They started a petition that attracted more than 3,000 signatures, and their fans kept replying to Hidden Valley posts with an image of the duo as “My Ranchbassador.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
Dr. Armstrong was a minute or two before replying.
From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
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.
