reply
Use reply in a sentence
verb (used without object)
1.
to make answer in words or writing; answer; respond: to reply to a question.
2.
to respond by some action, performance, etc.: to reply to the enemy's fire.
3.
to return a sound; echo; resound.
4.
Law. to answer a defendant's plea.
verb (used with object)
5.
to return as an answer (usually used in a negative combination or followed by a clause with that ): Not a syllable did he reply. He replied that no one would go.
00:10
reply
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is lollygag. Does it mean:
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
| chat, to converse |
noun
6.
an answer or response in words or writing.
7.
a response made by some action, performance, etc.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To reply
Collins
World English Dictionary
reply (rɪˈplaɪ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb , -plies, -plying, -plied | |
| 1. | to make answer (to) in words or writing or by an action; respond: he replied with an unexpected move |
| 2. | (tr; takes a clause as object) to say (something) in answer: he replied that he didn't want to come |
| 3. | law to answer a defendant's plea |
| 4. | to return (a sound); echo |
| —n , -plies, -plying, -plied, -plies | |
| 5. | an answer made in words or writing or through an action; response |
| 6. | the answer made by a plaintiff or petitioner to a defendant's case |
| [C14: from Old French replier to fold again, reply, from Latin replicāre to fold back, from | |
| re'plier | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
reply
c.1385, from O.Fr. replier "to reply, turn back," from L. replicare "to reply, repeat," lit. "fold back," from re- "back, again" + plicare "to fold" (see ply). The noun is first recorded 1560. Mod.Fr. répliquer is directly from L.L.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Jargon
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FOLDOC
Example sentences
The request for a reply is often omitted, since everyone is supposed to know that an answer is necessary.
One more from a former public health official, then brief reply, after the jump.
Five years too late, a reply that is completely nonsensical as well as full of the requisite bad grammar, and no link.
None of you ever post anything so you'll never see this withering reply.
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