answer

[ an-ser, ahn- ]

noun

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.

verb (used without object)

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 by for ).
4. to be or declare oneself responsible or accountable (usually followed by for ):

   I will answer for his safety.

5. to be satisfactory or serve (usually followed by for ):

   His cane answered for a baseball bat.

6. to conform; correspond (usually followed by to ):

   The prisoner answered to the description issued by the police.

verb (used with object)

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. to reply impertinently or rudely:

   Well-behaved children do not answer back when scolded.

answer

/ 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

verb

1. when tr, may take a clause as object to reply or respond (to) by word or act

   he answered

   to answer a question

   he answered that he would come

   to answer the door

2. tr to reply correctly to; solve or attempt to solve

   I could answer only three questions

3. intrusually foll byto 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. when intr, often foll by for to meet the requirements (of); be satisfactory (for); serve the purpose (of)

   this will answer his needs

   this will answer for a chisel

6. when intr, often foll by to 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)

Other Words From

• answer·er noun
• answer·less adjective
• un·answered adjective
• un·answer·ing adjective
• well-answered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of answer¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of answer¹

Old English andswaru an answer; related to Old Frisian ondser, Old Norse andsvar; see swear

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

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

More idioms and phrases containing answer

• know all the answers
• take no for an answer

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

“Employees are required to participate in these investigations,” the policy says, “answer questions, and do so honestly.”

From Los Angeles Times

Ms Arbane alleged she answered an invitation to meet Daoud three years ago, but refused when he asked if he could use her story as the basis for his book.

From BBC

Alan Owen, one of the leaders of the men’s campaign said the decision was a “brilliant” step forward after years of battles for answers.

From BBC

Weiss and Brier’s fruitful professional dynamic is one example of a pair who answers that age-old debate ignited by “When Harry Met Sally.”

From Los Angeles Times

“Schools have disciplinary boards to be consistent in punishment and to make sure the facts are investigated and that the true culprits are brought to answer,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• acknowledge
• argue
• claim
• defend
• deny
• explain
• plead
• resolve
• respond
• return
• say
• solve

How Do You Spell Answer?

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.