/ rɪˈspɒnd; NAmE rɪˈspɑːnd/ verb
1.
respond (to sb/sth) (with sth) (rather formal ) to give a spoken or written answer to sb/sth
SYN reply :
[ v ]
I asked him his name, but he didn't respond.
She never responded to my letter.
[ v speech ]
'I'm not sure,' she responded.
[ v that ]
When asked about the company's future, the director responded that he remained optimistic.
➡ note at answer
2.
[ v ] respond (to sth) (with sth / by doing sth) to do sth as a reaction to sth that sb has said or done
SYN react :
How did they respond to the news?
The government responded by banning all future demonstrations.
3.
[ v ] respond (to sth/sb) to react quickly or in the correct way to sth/sb :
The car responds very well to the controls.
You can rely on him to respond to a challenge.
4.
[ v ] respond (to sth) to improve as a result of a particular kind of treatment :
The infection did not respond to the drugs.
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (as a noun): from Old French , from respondre to answer, from Latin respondere , from re- again + spondere to pledge. The verb dates from the mid 16th cent.