Link Centre Dictionary

answer

ans·wer

UK/ˈɑːn.sə/ US/ˈa̝n.sə/ very common
verb (10) noun (5)

verb

1.

reply or respond to

  • “She didn”
  • “;”
  • “;”
Synonyms
2.

give the correct answer or solution to

  • “answer a question”
  • “answer the riddle”
3.

respond to a signal

  • “answer the door”
  • “answer the telephone”
4.

understand the meaning of

  • “The question concerning the meaning of life cannot be answered”
Synonyms
5.

give a defence or refutation of (a charge) or in (an argument)

  • “The defendant answered to all the charges of the prosecution”
6.

be liable or accountable

  • “She must answer for her actions”
7.

be sufficient; be adequate, either in quality or quantity

  • “A few words would answer”
  • “This car suits my purpose well”
  • “Will $100 do?”
  • “A”
  • “grade doesn”
  • “;”
Synonyms
8.

match or correspond

  • “The drawing of the suspect answers to the description the victim gave”
9.

be satisfactory for; meet the requirements of or serve the purpose of

  • “This may answer her needs”
10.

react to a stimulus or command

  • “The steering of my new car answers to the slightest touch”

noun

1.

a statement (either spoken or written) that is made in reply to a question or request or criticism or accusation

  • “I waited several days for his answer”
  • “he wrote replies to several of his critics”
Synonyms
2.

a statement that solves a problem or explains how to solve the problem

  • “they were trying to find a peaceful solution”
  • “the answers were in the back of the book”
  • “he computed the result to four decimal places”
Synonyms
3.

the speech act of replying to a question

Antonyms
4.

the principle pleading by the defendant in response to plaintiff's complaint; in criminal law it consists of the defendant's plea of `guilty' or `not guilty' (or nolo contendere); in civil law it must contain denials of all allegations in the plaintiff's complaint that the defendant hopes to controvert and it can contain affirmative defenses or counterclaims

5.

a nonverbal reaction

  • “his answer to any problem was to get drunk”
  • “their answer was to sue me”

Origin

From Middle English answere, andsware, from Old English andswaru (“answer”), from and- (“against”) + swaru (“affirmation”), (from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- (“front, forehead”) and Old English swerian (“to swear”), from Proto-Indo-European *swer-), suggesting an original meaning of "a sworn statement rebutting a charge".

Phrases

  • answer at Terms derived from answer (verb)
  • answer back Terms derived from answer (verb)
  • answer engine Terms derived from answer (noun)
  • answer for Terms derived from answer (verb)
  • answer key Terms derived from answer (noun)
  • answer on a postcard Terms derived from answer (noun)
  • answer phone Terms derived from answer (noun)
  • answer print Terms derived from answer (noun)
  • answer set programming Terms derived from answer (noun)
  • answer sheet Terms derived from answer (noun)
  • answer someone's prayers Terms derived from answer (verb)
  • answer song Terms derived from answer (noun)

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.