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re·spond

 (ri-spond')
v. re·spond·ed, re·spond·ing, re·sponds
v.intr.
1. To make a reply; answer: respond to an email.
2. To act in return or in answer: firefighters responding to a call. See Synonyms at answer.
3. To react to a stimulus or to a treatment, especially in a favorable way: tumors that responded to radiation.
v.tr.
To give as a reply; answer.
n. Architecture
A pilaster or half-pier engaged to a wall and carrying one end of an arch or groin, often at the end of an arcade.
[Middle English responden, from Old French respondre, from Latin respondere : re-, re- + spondere, to promise; see spend- in Indo-European roots.]
re·spond'er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

respond

(r?'sp?nd)
vb
1. to state or utter (something) in reply
2. (intr) to act in reply; react: to respond by issuing an invitation.
3. (foll by: to) to react favourably: this patient will respond to treatment.
4. an archaic word for correspond
n
5. (Architecture) architect a pilaster or an engaged column that supports an arch or a lintel
6. (Ecclesiastical Terms) Christianity a choral anthem chanted in response to a lesson read at a church service
[C14: from Old French respondre, from Latin respondere to return like for like, from re- + spondere to pledge; see spouse, sponsor]
re'spondence, re'spondency n
re'sponder n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

re•spond

(r?'sp?nd)

v.i.
1. to answer in words: to respond to a question.
2. to make a return by some action: to respond to a charity drive.
3. to react favorably.
4. to exhibit some action or effect; react: Nerves respond to stimuli.
v.t.
5. to say in answer; reply.
n.
6. a half pier, pilaster, or the like supporting an arch or lintel.
7. a short anthem chanted at intervals during the reading of a lection.
[1350–1400; (n.) Middle English: responsory < Old French, derivative of respondre to respond < Latin respondere to promise in return, reply, answer =re- re- + spondere to pledge, promise (compare sponsor); (v.) < Latin respondere]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

respond


Past participle: responded
Gerund: responding