response
Americannoun
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an answer or reply, as in words or in some action.
- Synonyms:
- rejoinder
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Biology. any behavior of a living organism that results from an external or internal stimulus.
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Ecclesiastical.
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a verse, sentence, phrase, or word said or sung by the choir or congregation in reply to the officiant.
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Bridge. a bid based on an evaluation of one's hand relative to the previous bid of one's partner.
noun
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the act of responding; reply or reaction
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bridge a bid replying to a partner's bid or double
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(usually plural) Christianity a short sentence or phrase recited or sung by the choir or congregation in reply to the officiant at a church service
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electronics the ratio of the output to the input level, at a particular frequency, of a transmission line or electrical device
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any pattern of glandular, muscular, or electrical reactions that arises from stimulation of the nervous system
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A reaction, as that of an organism or any of its parts, to a specific stimulus.
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See more at classical conditioning
Synonym Usage
See answer.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of response
First recorded in 1250–1300; from Latin respōnsum, noun use of neuter past participle of respondēre “to reply, answer”; replacing Middle English respounse, from Middle French respons, from Latin, as above; see respond
Explanation
A response is a reaction to a question, experience, or some other type of stimulus. If you cry at sad movies, you're having an emotional response to the drama that's taking place on the screen. A response can come in many forms, including an answer to a question, an emotional reaction, or a reply. If a teacher asks, "Who invented the phonograph?" She hopes her students will give her the response, "Why, Thomas Edison, of course!" When a parent tells a child not to cross the street when the light is red, he hopes the response will be compliance.
Vocabulary lists containing response
PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade7)
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 7
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But as a private operator, it must balance its wildfire response with its commitments to commercial clients.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in response that Ottawa stands ready to "intensify" talks with the United States, and has made proposals to resolve disputes and modernize the USMCA.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
Berkeley Group, London’s biggest house builder, welcomed the changes—but still warned it was scaling back its business in response to the “unprecedented increase in cost and regulation” in recent years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
This finding suggests that the inflammatory response to plaques may be a reversible cause of sleep loss and could potentially be treated separately from the plaques themselves.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026
Kathy asked her moshom, who shrugged in response.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Forrest said Bisignano never maintained a dossier on employees and said it was false that he asked for negative survey responses to be traced back to their authors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Truly creative and inspiring art undermines that goal, because it provokes responses like empathy and critical thinking in audiences — which gets in the way of authoritarian domination.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
An illustration of the three responses from the bacteria when the nanoplastics come into contact with the biofilm.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026
The ban comes after 1,100 responses to a consultation which strongly supported introducing an age restriction on the drinks, external.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
Her responses to his greetings were frosty nods.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.