A response.
"She finally got back to me with a brief respond that she couldn't make it to the meeting."
"The only response to the question was silence."
To say something in return; to answer; to reply.
"When I asked if he was coming, she simply responded that she had a meeting instead."
In plain English: To respond means to give an answer or reaction to something someone else says or does.
"She quickly responded to his question with a polite nod."
Usage: Use respond when you are answering verbally or taking action as a reaction, rather than simply giving an oral reply like the more specific word reply. It often implies a thoughtful reaction to a situation or question, whereas synonyms like react focus on immediate emotional or physical responses without necessarily involving speech.
The word entered English via the Old French respondre, which itself came from the Late Latin respondō. Originally meaning to answer back or reply, it traveled through Middle English as responden before settling into its current form.