answer

Meanings

1. A response given to a question, or the solution to a problem.
2. A reaction to something, such as an action or a call.

Example sentences

• "What is the answer to question three?"

  Level A1, Meaning 1

• "I knocked on the door, but there was no answer."

  Level A2, Meaning 2

• "She gave a short answer and left."

  Level A2, Meaning 1

• "The teacher wrote the answer on the board."

  Level A1, Meaning 1

Synonyms and antonyms

Look-alikes and common mistakes

• reply : A reply is anything you say or write back. An answer is a reply to a question.
• solution : A solution solves a problem. An answer can be a short reply, or the solution to a puzzle.

Word family and forms

Forms: answers

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "answer".

• the right answer
• give an answer
• the answer to
• a short answer
• no answer
• answer the phone

Idioms and phrases

know all the answers

Act as if you understand everything.

"He thinks he knows all the answers."

Origin

Answer comes from Old English andswaru, built from and-, meaning against or facing, and a word for affirming that is related to swear. So an answer was first a statement made in return, facing the question. The w, which is now silent, was once pronounced.

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Dictionary.com.

How to remember it

Answer has a silent w: AN-ser. Remember that the w is in the word, like a swan that does not sing.

Test yourself

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