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answer for

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an⋅swer

  [an-ser, ahn-]
Use answer for in a Sentence
–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. a solution to a problem, esp. 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, esp. 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)
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 fol. by for).
12. to be or declare oneself responsible or accountable (usually fol. by for): I will answer for his safety.
13. to be satisfactory or serve (usually fol. by for): His cane answered for a baseball bat.
14. to conform; correspond (usually fol. by to): The prisoner answered to the description issued by the police.
–verb (used with object)
15. 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. to 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. to reply or respond favorably to: I would like to answer your request but am unable to do so.
—Verb phrase
23. answer back, to reply impertinently or rudely: Well-behaved children do not answer back when scolded.
—Idiom
24. answer the helm, Nautical. (of a vessel) to maneuver or remain steady according to the position of the rudder.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME andswerien, OE andswerian, andswarian deriv. of andswaru an answer, equiv. to and- opposite, facing (cf. and, along ) + Gmc *swarō, deriv. of swear

Related forms:
an⋅swer⋅er, noun
an⋅swer⋅less, 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, esp. 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. 2009.
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Word Origin & History

answer 
O.E. andswaru, from and- "against" (see ante-) + -swaru "affirmation," from swerian "to swear," reflecting the original sense of "make a sworn statement rebutting a charge." A common Gmc. compound (cf. O.S. antswor, O.N. andsvar, O.Fris. ondser), implying a P.Gmc. *andswara-. Meaning "a reply to a question," the main modern sense, was in O.E. Answerable "liable to be held responsible" is from 1548.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: 2answer
Function: intransitive verb
1 : to serve or file an answer
2 : to make oneself responsible or accountable (as for the debt of another) transitive verb 1 : to reply to in an answer <answer the complaint>
2 : to make a defense against (as a charge or accusation) —an·swer·able adjective
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

answer for

  1. Take responsibility for, take charge of, as in The new alarm system has to answer for the security of the grounds. [Late 1200s]

  2. Take the blame for, as in The kids who were caught shoplifting have a lot to answer for. [c. 1200]

  3. To vouch for or sponsor someone, as in I'll answer for John as a reliable employee. [Early 1700s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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