Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - reply

(replies, replying, replied) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. When you reply to something that someone has said or written to you, you say or write an answer to them. ‘That’s a nice dress,’ said Michael. ‘Thanks,’ she replied solemnly... He replied that this was absolutely impossible... Grace was too terrified to reply... To their surprise, hundreds replied to the advertisement. = answer VERB: V with quote, V that, V, V to n 2. A reply is something that you say or write when you answer someone or answer a letter or advertisement. I called out a challenge, but there was no reply... David has had 12 replies to his ad... He said in reply that the question was unfair. = response N-COUNT: oft N to/from n, also in N 3. If you reply to something such as an attack with violence or with another action, you do something in response. Farmers threw eggs and empty bottles at police, who replied with tear gas... The National Salvation Front has already replied to this series of opposition moves with its own demonstrations. VERB: V with n, V to n with n