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answer

/ˈæn.sɚ/
nounverb

ANSWER's Scrabble score is 9 points, and its W carries 4 of them.

NWL Collins ENABLE

Noun 4 meanings

  1. A response or reply; something said or done in reaction to a statement or question.

    “Her answer to his proposal was a slap in the face.”

  2. A solution to a problem.

    “There is no simple answer to corruption.”

  3. Someone or something that fills a similar role or position.

  4. A document filed in response to a complaint, responding to each point raised in the complaint and raising counterpoints.

Verb 4 meanings

  1. To make a reply or response to.

    “He answered the question.”

  2. To speak in defence against; to reply to in defence.

    “to answer a charge or accusation”

  3. To respond to a call by someone at a door or telephone, or other similar piece of equipment.

    “She answered the door.”

  4. To suit a need or purpose satisfactorily.

    “It answers the need.”

Definitions: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA) via Kaikki/Wiktextract

Where it comes from

Etymology

From Middle English answere, andsware, from Old English andswaru (“answer”), from and- (“against”) + swaru (“affirmation”), (from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- (“front, forehead”) and Old English swerian (“to swear”), from Proto-Indo-European *swer-), suggesting an original meaning of "a sworn statement rebutting a charge".

Similar and opposite words

Similar
replication

ANSWER is a common six-letter word with a frequency rank of 1,251 in our data. It appears in Collins, NWL2023 and ENABLE, so it is playable in the main Scrabble dictionaries. Its letters also make two anagrams and a set of rhymes, covered below.

How the 9 points add up

  • A, N, S, E and R are each worth 1 point.
  • W is worth 4 points, the only letter above 1 in this word.
  • The total is 1 + 1 + 1 + 4 + 1 + 1 = 9 points.
  • W supplies nearly half of the 9 points, so it is the tile to watch.

Anagrams and one-letter neighbours

The same six letters, A, E, N, R, S and W, make two anagrams in our data: RESAWN and AWNERS. Both use the same tiles, so both score 9 points on a standard set.

ANSWER has no one-letter neighbours in the lexicon, so a word-ladder game needs a different path. The lexicon holds 22,158 six-letter words to choose from.

The 9 points are the base value before any board bonus. A premium square can double or triple a letter or the whole word, so the same play can score well above 9.

Placing the W on a triple-letter square is the big lever, because it turns its 4 points into 12 before the rest of the word is counted.

Rhymes that end in -WER

The tail WER gives 12 rhymes in our data, including POWER, LOWER, FLOWER, TOWER and DRAWER. Rhymes help with crossword fills and word-ladder puzzles that need a matching ending.

The same tail also gives SEWER, VIEWER and NEWER, so a short list is easy to build when you need one.

The rare anagrams

Note

RESAWN and AWNERS are valid in Collins, NWL2023 and ENABLE, but neither is common. Treat them as clever Scrabble finds rather than words you would reach for in a crossword.

Rhymes with answer

All rhymes

Questions people ask

Is ANSWER a valid Scrabble word?
Yes. ANSWER appears in Collins, NWL2023 and ENABLE, so it is accepted in the main Scrabble-style dictionaries. Check which edition your game uses, since the rules differ between leagues.
How many points is ANSWER worth in Scrabble?
ANSWER is worth 9 points on a standard tile set. Its W is the only tile above 1 point, and it is worth 4, so the total is 1 + 1 + 1 + 4 + 1 + 1 = 9.
Are there any anagrams of ANSWER?
Yes, two: RESAWN and AWNERS. Each uses the same six letters, A, E, N, R, S and W, so each scores the same 9 points before any premium square is counted.

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