answering
Syllables: an·swer·ingUK/ˈɑːn.sə.ɹɪŋ//ˈæn.sɚ.ɪŋ/
answering is the present participle and gerund of answer.
Meaning of answer
Verb
answer (third-person singular simple present answers, present participle answering, simple past and past participle answered)
- To make a reply or response to.
- She answers him as if she knew his mind:1593, [William Shakespeare], Venus and Adonis, London: […] Richard Field, […], →OCLC
- To speak in defence against; to reply to in defence.
- to answer a charge or accusation
- To respond to a call by someone at a door or telephone, or other similar piece of equipment.
- She answered the door.
- To suit a need or purpose satisfactorily.
- It answers the need.
- To be accountable or responsible; to make amends.
- The man must answer to his employer for the money entrusted to his care.
- Synonyms:
- answer for
- To file a document in response to a complaint.
Noun
answering (plural answerings)
- The act of giving an answer.
- An answer that comes out of the whirlwind is, logically, no answer at all: it belongs to a world above that of logical answerings.1923, John Cann Bailey, The Continuity of Letters, page 107
Forms of answering
| plural | answerings |
|---|
Origin of answering
From Middle English answerynge; equivalent to answer + -ing.
Words formed from answering
Phrases with answering
- answering to
- answering up
- answering for
- answering back
- answering machine
- answering service
- answering machines
- answering pennants
- answering services
- answering the call
- answering the helm
- answering someone's prayers
3 more phrasesFewer phrases
Questions about answering
- What does answering mean?
- Answering means the act of giving an answer.
- What is answering the present participle and gerund of?
- Answering is the present participle and gerund of answer.
- What part of speech is answering?
- Answering is a noun.
- How do you pronounce answering?
- Answering is pronounced /ˈɑːn.sə.ɹɪŋ/ (UK).
- What is the plural of answering?
- The plural of answering is answerings.
Words near answering in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: answering (page history and authors); answer (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-answering.ogg.
Cite this entry: “answering.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/answering. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.