reply

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/rɪˈplaɪ/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/rɪˈplaɪ/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(ri plī′)

Inflections of 'reply' (n): npl: replies
Inflections of 'reply' (v): (⇒ conjugate)
replies
v 3rd person singular
replying
v pres p
replied
v past
replied
v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
re•ply /rɪˈplaɪ/USA pronunciation   v., -plied, -ply•ing, n., pl. -plies. 
v. 
  1. to give an answer in words or writing;
    respond: [no object]to reply to a question.[~ + that clause]He replied that no one would go.
  2. to respond by some action:[no object]to reply to the enemy's fire by firing back.

n. [countable]
  1. a response in words or writing:received a reply to her letter.
  2. a response in the form of some action:Their reply was a salvo from the huge guns.
Idioms
  1. in reply, in an answer:What did you say in reply?

See -plic-.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
re•ply  (ri plī′),USA pronunciation v., -plied, -ply•ing, n., pl. -plies. 
v.i. 
  1. to make answer in words or writing;
    answer;
    respond:to reply to a question.
  2. to respond by some action, performance, etc.:to reply to the enemy's fire.
  3. to return a sound;
    echo;
    resound.
  4. Lawto answer a defendant's plea.

v.t. 
  1. to return as an answer (usually used in a negative combination or fol. by a clause with that):Not a syllable did he reply. He replied that no one would go.

n. 
  1. an answer or response in words or writing.
  2. a response made by some action, performance, etc.
  • Latin replicāre to unroll, fold back; see replicate
  • Middle French replier to fold back, reply
  • Middle English replien (verb, verbal) 1350–1400
re•pli′er, n. 
    1. rejoin. 6. rejoinder, riposte. See answer. 
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
reply /rɪˈplaɪ/ vb ( -plies, -plying, -plied) (mainly intr)
  1. to make answer (to) in words or writing or by an action; respond
  2. (transitive; takes a clause as object) to say (something) in answer: she replied that she didn't want to come
  3. to answer a defendant's plea
  4. to return (a sound); echo
 n ( pl -plies)
  1. an answer made in words or writing or through an action; response
  2. the answer made by a plaintiff or petitioner to a defendant's case
Etymology: 14th Century: from Old French replier to fold again, reply, from Latin replicāre to fold back, from re- + plicāre to foldreˈplier n
(Advertisement)
'reply' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
accept - acknowledgment - afterthought - again - allow - answer - answer back - back - box - call - caustic - chatbot - comeback - denial - dubious - dusty - evoke - forever - frame - gruff - guarded - indeterminate - Job - jump - NRN - pat - quick-witted - rebutter - rejoin - rejoinder - repartee - replica - replication - rescript - respond - response - retort - return - riposte - round on - RSVP - statement - studied - surrebutter - surrejoinder - vouchsafe - abrupt - acknowledge - address - ad rem
Collocations: a [quick, long, detailed, prompt, timely] reply, reply to his [letter, message, email], would appreciate a [quick] reply, more...

Forum discussions with the word(s) "reply" in the title:


Look up "reply" at Merriam-Webster
Look up "reply" at dictionary.com
  • Go to Preferences page and choose from different actions for taps or mouse clicks.

In other languages: Spanish | French | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | German | Dutch | Swedish | Russian | Polish | Czech | Greek | Turkish | Chinese | Japanese | Korean | Arabic

iPhone app store