— answerer , n. — answerless , adj.
/an"seuhr, ahn"-/ , n.
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.
v.i.
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.
v.t.
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.
23. answer back , to reply impertinently or rudely: Well-behaved children do not answer back when scolded.
24. answer the helm , Naut. (of a vessel) to maneuver or remain steady according to the position of the rudder.
[ bef. 900; ME andswerien, OE andswerian, andswarian deriv. of andswaru an answer, equiv. to and- opposite, facing (cf. AND, ALONG) + Gmc * swaro, deriv. of SWEAR ]
Syn. 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.