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What do you call somebody who asks a question and somebody who answers a question?

I have exhausted the thesaurus with no real luck... any ideas?

EDIT: It is in reference to this - or any other StackExchange - site in which the question is posed by X and answer is submitted by Y.

EDIT 2: In the context of StackExchange, and the fact I need plurality (something I neglected to mention oooops), I have decided upon "Posters" and "Respondents"...

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10 Answers 10

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Questioner/Asker, Answerer, Answerer

Noun
answerer (plural answerers)
1. a person or thing that answers or responds

Also see here: Should I prefer "asker" or "questioner" for a person who asked a question?

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    You can accept my answer as the answer to your question, questioner, and let me be the answerer of this question
    – mplungjan
    Commented Feb 17, 2011 at 12:47
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    Ah ha .. a witty aside...done.
    – slotishtype
    Commented Feb 17, 2011 at 12:49
  • +1 (snicker) Based on your answer, that should have said asker.
    – Tragicomic
    Commented Feb 17, 2011 at 12:51
  • hehe, got me...
    – mplungjan
    Commented Feb 18, 2011 at 20:24
  • Asker is the first thing that comes to my mind, but it always gets squiggly lines (spell check). If it's so intuitive to call someone who asks an asker, why didn't it become a proper word in the English (US) language? PS: So does answerer...
    – ADTC
    Commented May 31, 2016 at 9:30
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May I suggest: Questioner/Respondent

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  • You may....I'd upvote but the system won't allow.
    – slotishtype
    Commented Feb 17, 2011 at 12:40
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    I was going to say Questioner/Questionee. Respondant seems more professional.
    – WernerCD
    Commented Feb 17, 2011 at 18:00
  • Gotta throw my weight behind this one. The individual words may exist, but Asker/Answerer as a pairing? No way! Give me Questioner/Respondent any day!
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented May 20, 2011 at 0:03
  • Respondent doesn't imply an answer given, hence is not suitable as answer to this question. It is however a response.
    – Paul
    Commented Jul 14, 2015 at 13:42
  • I like Questioner but not Respondent because Respondent is kind of like Defendant. It's a legal term. Responder works better. I also like Expert which someone proposed.
    – aparente001
    Commented Nov 15, 2016 at 8:55
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You could consider Inquirer, Questioner or, for instance Interrogator. Meanings differ slightly, I'd normally go for one of the first two. The third can be used when someone asks multiple questions, i.e., interrogates someone else.

Edit: respondent has been suggested by others.

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  • It's actuall in reference to this, or any stack exchange site, in which questions and posed by "questioners/posters" and answers are submitted by "respondents/answers". Trying to find the most appropriate usage though. Cheers btw.
    – slotishtype
    Commented Feb 17, 2011 at 12:41
  • I agree with you, inquirer is the right word. Asker is not on the Cambridge dictionary
    – Hola Soy Edu Feliz Navidad
    Commented Mar 31, 2015 at 7:48
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    I way prefer 'inquirer' to 'questioner' the latter seems to have connotations of scepticism.
    – dumbledad
    Commented Aug 16, 2023 at 15:10
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Sometimes they're called counselor and witness.

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  • lol I love the twist on circumstance. Bravo sir.
    – WernerCD
    Commented Feb 17, 2011 at 18:00
  • Querent and Oracle have a similar bent.
    – neontapir
    Commented Nov 8, 2012 at 6:36
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Asker and responder come to my mind first - these terms may be weird in your use case though, as I have a technical background.

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Questioner and Answerer do work just fine in this context.

But other common ones, depending on context:

Questioner - asker, inquirer, querier, analyst, examiner, interrogator, investigator

I don't have any alternatives for answerer other than respondent

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In addition to suggested ones, you may even use interviewee and interviewer in suitable context.

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  • Asker and Askee ?
    – ADTC
    Commented May 31, 2016 at 9:33
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Try a thesaurus: asker answerer. I like enquirer and respondent.

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I use querent for the person asking questions. In the Stack Exchange context, the folks who answer questions are experts.

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Very late update, but I believe the convention now to use OP (short for Original Poster) for the person asking the question?

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