, v. i. 1.
To speak or write by way of return (originally, to a charge), or in reply; to make response.
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-There was no voice, nor any that answered. 1 Kings xviii. 26.
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2.
To make a satisfactory response or return. Hence:
To render account, or to be responsible; to be accountable; to make amends; as, the man must answer to his employer for the money intrusted to his care.
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-Let his neck answer for it, if there is any martial law. Shak.
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3.
To be or act in return. Hence: (a)
To be or act by way of compliance, fulfillment, reciprocation, or satisfaction; to serve the purpose; as, gypsum answers as a manure on some soils.
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-Do the strings answer to thy noble hand? Dryden.
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(b)
To be opposite, or to act in opposition. (c)
To be or act as an equivalent, or as adequate or sufficient; as, a very few will answer. (d)
To be or act in conformity, or by way of accommodation, correspondence, relation, or proportion; to conform; to correspond; to suit; -- usually with to.
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-That the time may have all shadow and silence in it, and the place answer to convenience. Shak.
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-If this but answer to my just belief,
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