respond
noun
re·spond
| \ ri-ˈspänd
\
\
Definition of respond
(Entry 1 of 2)
: an engaged pillar supporting an arch or closing a colonnade or arcade
respond
verb
responded;
responding;
responds
Definition of respond (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: to say something in return : make an answer
respond to criticism
2a
: to react in response
responded to a call for help
b
: to show favorable reaction
respond to surgery
3
: to be answerable
respond in damages
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Other Words from respond
Verb
responder
\ ri-ˈspän-dər
\
noun
\
noun
Examples of respond in a Sentence
Verb
She hasn't yet responded to my letter. My mother responded to my request with a firm no. The teacher asked a question, but the student didn't respond. “Are you ready?” he asked. “No,” she responded. When I asked him what he was doing, he responded that it was none of my business. Police quickly responded to the call for help. She responded to their decision by threatening to quit.
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Why shouldn’t our commander-in-chief respond in kind? — Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, "It’s Time for Trump to Troll China," 16 Aug. 2019 According to Carrie, the disease causes his immune system to over-respond to everything from food in his GI tract to viruses and bacteria. — Claudia Harmata, PEOPLE.com, "This 6-Year-Old Boy Has a Disease So Rare Doctors Say He Is the First to Have It," 13 Aug. 2019 The Verge Google is changing how the Google Home smart speaker and Nest Hub smart display respond to voice commands about lights. — Jon Porter, The Verge, "Google is making Assistant less chatty when turning off the lights," 24 July 2019 However, in sudden cases like the two this month, jail medical staff respond first and an ambulance is called. — Cameron Knight, Cincinnati.com, "After baby born in jail toilet, sheriff to target dealers selling to expecting mothers," 28 June 2019 Share Your Thoughts How should the U.S. respond to Iran shooting down one of its drones? — Vivian Salama, WSJ, "Trump Says Downing of U.S. Drone May Have Been Unintentional," 20 June 2019 If the offending party has no remorse, fails to apologize or is inaccessible (won’t respond, incapacitated, deceased, etc.), that doesn’t prevent us from letting go of that hot coal of resentment. — Philip Chard, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Forgiveness heals bitterness that corrodes the soul," 11 Jan. 2018 Essentially, though, the expansion is a respond to demand both for the southeast part of Huntsville as well as the fast-growing city as a whole. — Paul Gattis | Pgattis@al.com, al.com, "Huntsville’s Jones Valley adding more upscale apartments," 26 June 2019 How did Lincoln respond to the bitter social discord of his day? — David S. Reynolds, WSJ, "‘Becoming Lincoln’ Review: The Center That Held," 15 Feb. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
In general, others respond to you in a positive manner. — BostonGlobe.com, "Horoscope," 24 Aug. 2019 President Trump responded in a series of tweets ordering US companies to start looking for alternatives to China. — Erica Hernandez, CNN, "Quickly catch up on the day's news," 23 Aug. 2019 But that January, Pelosi not only responded to the Administration’s plea for an antirecession program but, in deference to the White House’s antispending obsession, agreed to rely on tax rebates for the short-term stimulus. — Barney Frank, Time, "We Need Bipartisanship to Fix the Economy. That Seems Impossible Right Now," 22 Aug. 2019 Japan took further action against Seoul by removing it from a list of trusted trade partners, and South Korea responded in kind. — New York Times, "South Korea Says It Will End Intelligence-Sharing Deal With Japan, Adding to Tensions," 22 Aug. 2019 The characters in the Life is Strange universe respond in a morally reprehensible manner not only to the actions of the player, but their personalities are influenced and shaped over the course of an entire game. — Trilby Beresford, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Life Is Strange 2' Team on Simulated and Real-World Violence: "Video Games Are Really Easy to Blame"," 22 Aug. 2019 In the spring and summer the plant responds with fresh green foliage and an array of colorful blossoms. — Stan Davidson, sun-sentinel.com, "Spice up your landscape with Curcuma," 22 Aug. 2019 In the emotion regulation category, 49% of Glendale Unified secondary students responded favorably, good enough to reach the 60th to 79th percentile. — Andrew J. Campa, Glendale News-Press, "Majority of Glendale Unified secondary students surveyed lack sense of belonging," 21 Aug. 2019 The Boston Globe reports the commissioner is responding to critical findings in an independent report by the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy released in June. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Education commissioner sees teacher absenteeism as concern," 21 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'respond.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for respond
respond
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of respond
: to say or write something as an answer to a question or request
: to do something as a reaction to something that has happened or been done : to have a particular reaction to something
: to have a good or desired reaction to something
See the full definition for respond in the English Language Learners Dictionary
respond
verb
re·spond
| \ ri-ˈspänd
\
\
responded;
responding
Kids Definition of respond
1
: to say something in return
I called to her, but she didn't respond.
2
: to react in a way that shows some action was successful
Did the patient respond to surgery?
respond
intransitive verb