answer

The word “answer” means a reply given to a question, or a solution to a problem. In plain terms, a reply to a question, or, as a verb, to reply or be responsible for something.

“Answer” is pronounced AHN-suh (/ˈæn.sɚ/ in IPA).

Here is “answer” used in a sentence: “She gave a quick answer to the teacher's question.”

Depending on how it is used, “answer” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “answer” comes from Old English. From Old English andswaru, built from and- ("against") plus swaru ("statement, affirmation") — originally meaning something like a sworn reply rebutting a charge.

“Answer” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.

“Answer” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a reply given to a question, or a solution to a problem.

An answer directly addresses a question or problem, giving the information or solution asked for. A response is any reaction or reply, which may or may not actually answer. Every answer is a response, but not every response is an answer — a shrug or 'no comment' responds without answering anything.

An answer is the reply to a question — it might be a fact, a yes or no, or an explanation. A solution is specifically the way to resolve a problem. The two overlap when the question is itself a problem: the answer to a puzzle is also its solution.

If someone asks 'What time is it?' then 'Three o'clock' is the answer. For a maths problem like 2 + 2, the answer is 4. In both cases, the answer is the reply or solution that satisfies the question or problem posed — the information the asker was looking for.

The most natural opposite is a question — the thing an answer responds to. You might also contrast an answer with silence, a refusal to reply, or 'no comment,' where the expected answer is deliberately withheld. So the opposite is either the prompt itself or the absence of any reply.