三个单词均有当事人在法庭审判时的答复或辩驳的含义。answer为“辩护”，是最通用词汇，在司法程序中，指被告对原告指控的第一次答辩或提出相反陈述。在一般诉讼中，其可指答复书面质询的正式书面陈述；在离婚诉讼中为被告人对离婚请求的答复；在宗教法院中其被称为申辩，但也要求有本人的答复[1]。reply为“答复”，用于指原告对被告答辩时提出的问题或反诉所作的答复和反驳；或对第三方当事人的辩护的答复和反驳[2]。rejoinder为“第二次辩护”，指普通法诉讼中被告对原告之reply的辩驳[3]。
    
[1] “ A defendant's first pleading that addresses the merits of the case, usu. by denying the plaintiff's allegations. An answer usu. sets forth the defendant's defense and counterclaims. ”Cf. Bryan A. Gamer, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th edition, at p. 90，West Group (1999).
[2]“ In its general sense，the plaintiffs answer to a defendant's set-off or counterclaim. Under Fed. R. Civil p. 7 (a), a reply is only allowed in two situations： to a counterclaim denominated as such，or, on order of court, to an answer or a third-party answer. ”Cf. The Publisher's Editorial Staff, Black's Law Dictionary, abridged 6th edition, at p. 901，West Publishing Co. (1991).
[3]“The defendant's answer to the plaintiff's reply ( or replication). ”Cf. Bryan A. Gamer, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th edition, at p. 1291 , West Group (1999).