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noun
1.
a spoken or written reply or response to a question, request, letter, etc.: He sent an answer to my letter promptly.
2.
a correct response to a question asked to test one's knowledge.
3.
an equivalent or approximation: a singing group that 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.
EXPANDa solution to a problem, especially in mathematics.
6.
a reply to a charge or accusation.
7.
Law. a pleading in which a party responds to his or her opponent's statement of position, especially the defendant's reply to the plaintiff's complaint.
8.
COLLAPSEMusic. 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)
9.
to speak or write in response; make answer; reply.
10.
to respond by an act or motion: He answered with a nod. The champion answered with a right to the jaw.
11.
to act or suffer in consequence of (usually followed by for).
12.
to be or declare oneself responsible or accountable (usually followed by for): I will answer for his safety.
13.
EXPANDto be satisfactory or serve (usually followed by for): His cane answered for a baseball bat.
14.
COLLAPSEto conform; correspond (usually followed by to): The prisoner answered to the description issued by the police.
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Answer back
is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
verb (used with object)
Verb phrase15.
to speak or write in response to; reply to: to answer a person; to answer a question.
16.
to act or move in response to: Answer the doorbell. We answered their goal with two quick goals of our own.
17.
to solve or present a solution of.
18.
to serve or fulfill: This will answer the purpose.
19.
EXPANDto discharge (a responsibility, claim, debt, etc.).
20.
to conform or correspond to; be similar or equivalent to: This dog answers your description.
21.
to atone for; make amends for.
22.
COLLAPSEto reply or respond favorably to: I would like to answer your request but am unable to do so.
23.
Idiomanswer back, to reply impertinently or rudely: Well-behaved children do not answer back when scolded.
24.
answer the helm, Nautical. (of a vessel) to maneuver or remain steady according to the position of the rudder.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English andswerien, Old English andswerian, andswarian derivative of andswaru an answer, equivalent to and- opposite, facing (compare and, along) + Germanic *swarō, derivative of swear
before 900; Middle English andswerien, Old English andswerian, andswarian derivative of andswaru an answer, equivalent to and- opposite, facing (compare and, along) + Germanic *swarō, derivative of swear
Related forms
an·swer·er, noun
an·swer·less, adjective
un·an·swered, adjective
un·an·swer·ing, adjective
well-an·swered, adjective
Synonyms
1. riposte. 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. 6. defense, plea.
1. riposte. 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. 6. defense, plea.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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|
Link To answer back
Collins
World English Dictionary
| answer back | |
| —vb | |
| (adverb) to reply rudely to (a person, esp someone in authority) when one is expected to remain silent | |
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
answer
O.E. andswaru "a reply," from and- "against" (see ante) + -swaru "affirmation," from swerian "to swear" (see swear), suggesting an original sense of "make a sworn statement rebutting a charge." A common Gmc. compound (cf. O.S. antswor, O.N. andsvar,
EXPANDO.Fris. ondser), implying a P.Gmc. *andswara-. Meaning "a reply to a question," the main modern sense, was in O.E. The verb is from O.E. answarian. Answerable "liable to be held responsible" is from 1540s. The telephone answering machine is from 1961.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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