ENGLISH
REFERENCE

in response to sth

prep. phr..
B1 Intermediate Oxford

prep. phr.. you use this to show that an action or feeling was caused by something else that happened first.

prep. phr.. a complex prepositional phrase used to indicate a reaction, reply, or consequence triggered by a specific stimulus or event.


SIMPLE

The company lowered prices in response to customer complaints.

CONTEXTUAL

The government changed the law in response to the recent protests in the capital city.

COMPLEX

The biological system releases specific hormones in response to external stressors, allowing the organism to maintain internal stability despite environmental changes.

Usage

usually followed by a noun or a noun phrase that represents the cause or stimulus.

Teaching tip

contrast with 'because of' to show that 'in response to' implies a more direct reaction or reply to a specific action rather than just a general reason.

Pitfall

in response of the newsin response to the newsthe phrase always uses the preposition 'to' to connect to the object, never 'of'.

© 2026 English Reference