Respondent Definition: The party that responds to a claim filed in court against them by a plaintiff. Related Terms: Plaintiff, Defendant, Appeal, Appellant, Litigant The party that responds to a claim filed in court in the form of a petition, and against them by a petitioner.The word is also used to refer to the party who wins at the first court level but who must then respond to an appeal launched by the party that lost the case at the first court level (upon appeal, this latter person is called the appellant).In this latter capacity, the litigant may also be referred to as an appellee. Categories & Topics: Civil Litigation & Evidence Law Dictionary Find you are constantly looking up definitions? Try our search provider (works in most modern browsers) If you find an error or omission in Duhaime's Legal Dictionary, or if you have legal term suggestion, we'd love to hear from you!