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Definitions

help

[help] / hɛlp /

Part of Speech:

All (4) Noun (2) Verb (2)

Jump To:

assistance, relief n.
someone employed, usually as a servant or manual laborer. n.
aid, assist v.
improve v.

NOUN

assistance, relief

Synonyms

STRONGEST

advice aid benefit comfort cooperation guidance hand service support use

STRONG

assist avail balm corrective cure lift maintenance nourishment remedy succor sustenance utility

WEAK

helping hand

Antonyms

STRONGEST

blockage encumbrance handicap hindrance hurt injury obstruction prevention

STRONG

disease

WEAK

check counteraction harm stop

NOUN

someone employed, usually as a servant or manual laborer.

Synonyms

STRONGEST

domestic employee hand helper hired help hired man servant staff worker

WEAK

assistant

Antonyms

STRONG

boss manager

WEAK

management

VERB

aid, assist

Synonyms

STRONGEST

back benefit bolster boost cooperate encourage further maintain promote push save serve stimulate support

STRONG

abet accommodate advocate ballyhoo befriend cheer endorse hype intercede patronize plug prop puff relieve sanction second succor sustain uphold

WEAK

be of use buck up do a favor do a service do one's part go to bat for go with lend a hand open doors root for see through stand by stick up for stump for take under one's wing work for

Antonyms

STRONGEST

block condemn delay depress discourage dissuade halt harm hinder hurt impede neglect obstruct prevent refuse stop undermine

STRONG

conceal disapprove frustrate hide ignore oppose protest

WEAK

check counteract decrease injure worsen

VERB

improve

Synonyms

STRONGEST

alleviate ease facilitate restore revive treat

STRONG

ameliorate amend attend better cure doctor heal meliorate mitigate nourish palliate relieve remedy

Antonyms

STRONGEST

destroy hurt increase

STRONG

accuse blame condemn depress harm injure neglect worsen

WEAK

block check counteract decrease hinder obstruct stop

Frequently Asked Questions

What is another word for help?

A close synonym of the verb sense of help is assist. Assist can mean the same thing as help, but it can imply that the assistance is only part of the help being offered. The informal term lend a hand (in which a hand means assistance) often means the same thing. Some close synonyms for help can be used as a noun or as a verb: aid and support. Each can have different shades of meaning. Aid is more formal, and it’s often used in the context of serious situations. Support can be used in different ways. It often emphasizes the fact that the person being helped is not alone. Other synonyms for help are more specific. Guide means to help someone with a task or activity as they do it by providing guidance along the way—which is a bit more hands-on than advising (giving advice). Relief is often used in the context of helping those who are desperately in need, as in Multiple agencies are working to provide relief to those affected by the hurricane. Many of the noun synonyms of help can be used with the word provide to create synonyms of the verb sense: provide assistance, provide aid, provide support (and of course provide help). Sometimes, help means the same thing as facilitate, further, promote, or foster, as This legislation will help economic growth.

What is a fancier word for help?

Help is a very common word. Much less common terms that can mean the same thing are succor and abet. Succor can be used as a noun or a verb—and it can also refer to a person who provides help. It can sound a bit literary or formal—it’s probably most commonly encountered in older literature. Abet is most commonly used in the context of assisting someone with a crime—particularly in the phrase aid and abet.

What are some synonyms for other forms of help?

What is another word for helping? Helping describes giving aid, help, and support. Synonyms for this include assisting, guiding, and advising. Assisting suggests that you’re giving consistent or formalised support. Essentially, it implies that it’s part of your role to help out, where helping suggests that the help was optional. Guiding suggests that you’re more experienced than the person you’re helping, and you’re helping them to gain experience or improve. Advising also suggests that you know more than the person you’re helping, but in this case you’re offering advice when it’s needed. You might not have a hands-on role, but your advice is important. What is another word for helpful? If someone is helpful, you might describe them instead as supportive, friendly, useful, valuable or accommodating. Useful and valuable are most often used in workplaces to describe people, and you wouldn’t usually describe your friend that way. Supportive, friendly, and accommodating can be used in a wider variety of situations. Accommodating suggests that someone is understanding about your needs or requests, and will change things around to make you comfortable. If something is helpful—say advice, or a certain tool—you might describe it as beneficial or invaluable. Beneficial means that it offers a benefit, and invaluable means that it’s beyond valuable—that it’s important or necessary. What is another word for helper? A helper is an assistant. They might be an apprentice if they’re helping you in order to learn a trade or profession. If you’re a supervillain, they might be a henchman. They might be your subordinate, your deputy, or your right-hand-man. What can you say instead of helping others? There’s no direct synonym for the phrase helping others, but depending on the circumstances, you could use giving advice, having a support role or offering guidance. Have a think about what kind of help you’re offering, and once you’ve found a more specific word you can build your own phrase around that! What is another word for helpfulness? Instead of helpfulness, you can use usefulness, assistance, or help.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

help helps helped helping

Three weeks ago, he received a call from Musgraves’ team to help with the Spanish version.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

Now, some buyers are turning to Wall Street investment firms to help fund purchases totaling tens of billions of dollars per deal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Cardiff Airport said, when additional screening was required, passengers can be offered a private search room "to help ensure the process is carried out with dignity and discretion".

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

So in theory, stocks with negative beta should help to offset losses when the stocks helping to push the index higher stop working.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026

"Oh, yes, I recognize your donkey's bray! Sancho, wait! I'll go back to the palace. I'll be back soon with help!"

From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios

That helps explain why voters might be aggravated and still surprised when they see, for example, a $5 price tag on a gallon of milk.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

The country singer also asked fans to donate to the Young Center for Immigrant Rights, which helps children whose parents have faced deportations, during the opening night of her tour in Chicago back in August.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

The partnership between the two US-based tech titans helps them compete with Apple, Intel and AMD in the personal computing market.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

"Our work on extreme debris disks helps us bring together the big picture of what we currently understand."

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

It helps that Gran’s here, because telling him through her is going to make it easier.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

If Mr. Sun belongs to this nascent scene, it’s one he has helped shape and support.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

That century also helped spark wider interest in women's cricket in India, and transformed Harmanpreet into a household name.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Negative beta stocks helped limit the S&P 500’s losses during the March selloff and again in July, when the powerful artificial-intelligence-driven momentum trade hit the rocks, Emanuel said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026

Stellar corporate earnings and forecasts for next year have helped stocks tread water even though valuations have dropped.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

“No. But your principal talked about filing a police report. Thankfully, I talked him out of it. It helped that you have never been in trouble before this,” Dad says.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

Third quarter earnings will be crucial in helping analysts determine if the semiconductor supercycle still has legs but the upbeat tone struck by Su suggests fundamentals are still in favor of the big players.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026

What I hope with the book is that I’m helping to grow our discernment over which ones to face and which ones to just let be.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

That fearless approach instilled confidence and ambition in her teammates, helping the team overcome even the previously unbeatable Australians, most memorably in the semi-final of the 2025 ODI World Cup.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Social media trends like "2026 is the new 2016" are helping froyo's virality.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

“This is awesome,” I say, helping Lily sort through the art supplies.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

help

Frequently Asked Questions

Example Sentences

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