replies

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of reply.

   The senator's replies to the journalists were brief and guarded.

   Several replies to the forum post offered conflicting advice.

   Note

   It is spelled exactly like the present-tense verb, so only the sentence tells them apart: the replies arrived uses the noun, while she replies uses the verb. The plural carries every sense of the singular, including a lawyer's one. In US legal practice, replies are documents a party files in answer to a responsive declaration. Like the verb, the noun usually takes to before what is answered.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of reply.

   The spokesperson rarely replies directly to such pointed questions.

   He replies that the matter is still under review.

   Note

   The form a singular subject calls for, with the y of reply turning to i before -es. Used intransitively, it takes to before whatever is being answered (she replies to every letter). Used transitively, it takes a that-clause carrying the answer itself (he replies that he is busy). It can also describe a gesture made in response, or a sound that echoes back.

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