Answer
nounA reply to a question, or the correct solution to a problem.
How to spell answer
6 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce answer
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does answer mean?
- nounA reply to a question, or the correct solution to a problem.
- verbTo respond to a question, call, or letter.
Answer in a sentence
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noun
The answer to the puzzle was printed at the back.
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verb
Please answer the phone when it rings.
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noun
The answer is at the back of the book.
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verb
He was too busy to answer the email all week.
Where does answer come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
Answer is a native English word, descended from the Old English andswaru, a noun meaning a reply or a sworn statement. It was formed from and-, a prefix meaning 'against' or 'in return', joined to a root related to swerian, 'to swear' or 'to affirm solemnly'. The literal sense was therefore something like a 'counter-swearing', because an early answer was often a formal denial or rebuttal of a legal charge made under oath. Over the centuries the solemn legal flavour faded and the word came to mean simply a reply to a question. The 'sw' lurking in the middle is the spelling trap: the w is now completely silent, but it survives as a fossil of that old 'swear' root, which is exactly why the word is not spelled 'anser'.
How the word is built
- and- (against)
- -swer (from swerian: to swear, affirm)
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