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answer: Meaning and Definition of
an•swer
Pronunciation: (an'sur, än'-), [key] — n.
- a spoken or written reply or response to a question, request, letter, etc.: He sent an answer to my letter promptly.
- a correct response to a question asked to test one's knowledge.
- an equivalent or approximation: a singing group that tried to be the French answer to the Beatles.
- an action serving as a reply or response: The answer was a volley of fire.
- a solution to a problem, esp. in mathematics.
- a reply to a charge or accusation.
- 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.
- the entrance of a fugue subject, usually on the dominant, either slightly altered or transposed exactly after each presentation in the tonic.
—v.i. - to speak or write in response; make answer; reply.
- to respond by an act or motion: He answered with a nod. The champion answered with a right to the jaw.
- to act or suffer in consequence of (usually fol. by for).
- to be or declare oneself responsible or accountable (usually fol. by for): I will answer for his safety.
- to be satisfactory or serve (usually fol. by for): His cane answered for a baseball bat.
- to conform; correspond (usually fol. by to): The prisoner answered to the description issued by the police.
—v.t. - to speak or write in response to; reply to: to answer a person; to answer a question.
- to act or move in response to: Answer the doorbell. We answered their goal with two quick goals of our own.
- to solve or present a solution of.
- to serve or fulfill: This will answer the purpose.
- to discharge (a responsibility, claim, debt, etc.).
- to conform or correspond to; be similar or equivalent to: This dog answers your description.
- to atone for; make amends for.
- to reply or respond favorably to: I would like to answer your request but am unable to do so.
- to reply impertinently or rudely: Well-behaved children do not answer back when scolded.
- (of a vessel) to maneuver or remain steady according to the position of the rudder.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.