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answer

 - 5 dictionary results

an⋅swer

  [an-ser, ahn-]
Use answer 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.
Cite This Source Link To answer
an·swer   (ān'sər)   
n.  

    1. A spoken or written reply, as to a question.

    2. A correct reply.

    3. A solution, as to a problem.

    4. A correct solution.

    1. A solution, as to a problem.

    2. A correct solution.

  3. An act in retaliation or response: Our only possible answer was to sue.

  4. Something markedly similar to another of the same class: cable TV's answer to the commercial networks' sportscasts.

  5. Law A defendant's defense against charges.

v.   an·swered, an·swer·ing, an·swers

v.   intr.

  1. To speak, write, or act as a return, as to a question.

  2. To be liable or accountable: You must answer for your actions.

  3. To serve the purpose; suffice: "Often I do use three words where one would answer" (Mark Twain).

  4. To correspond; match: I found a dog answering to that description.

v.   tr.

  1. To speak, write, or act as a return to; respond to.

  2. To respond correctly to.

  3. To fulfill the demands or needs of; serve: "My fortune has answered my desires" (Isaak Walton).

  4. To conform or correspond to: The suspect answers the description given by the police.


[Middle English answere, from Old English andswaru; see swer- in Indo-European roots.]
Synonyms: These verbs relate to action taken in return to a stimulus. Answer, respond, and reply, the most general, all mean to speak, write, or act in response: Please answer my question. Did you expect the President to respond personally to your letter? The opposing team scored three runs; the home team replied with two of their own.
Respond also denotes a reaction, either voluntary (A bystander responded to the victim's need for help) or involuntary (She responded in spite of herself to the antics of the puppy). To retort is to answer verbally in a quick, caustic, or witty manner: She won the debate by retorting sharply to her opponent's questions. See Also Synonyms at satisfy.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: 1an·swer
Function: noun
1 : the defendant's written response to the plaintiff's complaint in a civil suit in which he or she may deny any of plaintiff's allegations, offer any defenses, and make any counterclaims against the plaintiff, cross-claims against other defendants, or third-party claims against third parties otherwise not involved in the lawsuit
2 : a written response to a counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim : REPLY —see also responsive pleading at PLEADING 1
NOTE: In federal cases, answers are governed by Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Under Rule 12, certain defenses (as lack of jurisdiction) may be made by motion rather than included in the answer.

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

In addition to the idioms beginning with answer, also see know all the answers; take no for an answer.

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