From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishanswer a needanswer a needPROVIDEto provide something that is needed Our transportation system is designed to answer the needs of the city’s commuters. → answer
Examples from the Corpus
answer a need• Your answer need not be quite as full as the explanations given here.• Previously, most units had a clean-lined, contemporary look that did not answer needs of style-conscious traditionalists. 