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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

You need a team, and you certainly need an accountant and a trust-and-estate attorney to help you navigate the trust and the house contained in the trust.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026

The Army launched a concierge service to help companies schedule tests at ranges in Michigan, Utah, Arizona and Mississippi.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

The incentives are intended to help California reach its electric vehicle and air quality goals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

"We lack essential supplies because importing beekeeping equipment from the other side is not permitted," Al-Dabba told AFP, saying he had approached external organisations and ministries in Gaza and the occupied West Bank for help.

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

Getting in the pool will help calm my crazy, and I’ll look like less of a dork than if I’m just sitting here waiting.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

On the contrary, it helps ensure that you can continue to be present.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026

“It used to be an easy no,” said Doug Frost, the master sommelier who helps United make its selections.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Large, careful trials have not found that swallowing high-dose vitamin C helps people with established cancer live longer.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026

When their fossils are discovered, it helps scientists piece together how local environments changed over time.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

Dad helps me stack my science fair stuff onto a rickety rolling cart.

From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein

She said the swap event helped families from having to "fork out" on uniforms.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

That helped these stocks score relatively well on that measure.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

They also helped researchers identify the abrupt changes linked to the Pacific reversal and the 2017 geomagnetic jerk.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026

"Fred has helped to transform the Lions environment into a programme that has had a major impact on young players," said England and Wales Cricket Board men's performance director Ed Barney.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

We helped Traveler through some of the quests and crafted a new set of armor for his next level milestone.

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows

“Now, China is helping the rest of the world build their factories. China can’t just export finished consumer goods forever.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

I am the closest family member, so I’ve been taking my brother to treatments, helping manage his care and maintaining his property.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026

Its secret formula, the city says, is embracing businesses, helping the homeless and keeping streets clean, to make downtown a go-to destination for more shoppers, diners and commuters.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

Richard, who was 55 at the time, had been living in his car at Parkside Cottage on Christopher Wright's farm on Sheffield Road in Barnsley, helping with small jobs around the farm.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

A helping hand wiped his face, gave him a drink, and freed him from the prison of the shields.

From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios

help

Frequently Asked Questions

Example Sentences

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