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

That would help make sure you all know where your mother’s finances are going and can be alerted to any unusual transactions.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026

It is also looking to recruit foreign fighters to help its Yemeni allies, they said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

Tweaking its plans to boost its credibility would help the U.K. government stay out of the crosshairs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

Rain is likely at times across much of the UK, but will still fall below the amount required to help ease drought hit-parts of England.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

I take Rue’s hand and can’t help but note how cold it is.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

Closed-system artificial intelligence helps Ukraine analyze and act on all this data to mount a timely air defense.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 11, 2026

I thank everyone who helps defend Ukraine and advances clear, fair steps toward peace!

From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026

His wife, Elizabeth, helps out with her cooking skills during preseason practices.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

This helps explain why osteoarthritis affecting the inside of the knee is especially common.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

The idea is that the hay rolls will stop the soil from washing away as the worm poop helps the invisible good stuff grow back in the soil.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

From ditching garages to choosing less expensive materials, she breaks down the trade-offs that helped them save without sacrificing style.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

Felix Salmon is joined by David Skeel, who served as chair on the oversight board that helped the island regain economic stability and detailed the saga of this debt crisis in his book Promise Land.

From Slate ● Oct. 12, 2026

Deloitte, the world's biggest accountancy firm, helped in falsifying documents to hide Roman Abramovich's wealth and evade tax, a BBC investigation has found.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

They say, “Hey, Terry, I really appreciate you talking about depression. I’m dealing with depression, and you really helped me a lot.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

Yesterday evening as I helped her with chores and the boys, I’d tried to figure out how to frame it.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

The Department for Work and Pensions, which is currently reviewing the system, says it’s spending a further £3.5 billion toward helping those with disabilities get jobs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

With public finances under strain, Schomaker said COP17 in Armenia would focus on ways to better engage the private sector in helping close the $700-billion annual funding shortfall for the 2030 nature protection goals.

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

High school sports programs are filled with dozens of volunteers — manning the snack bar, taking tickets, helping provide security, cleaning floors, carrying equipment and taking statistics.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

Treatments can involve mood-stabilising medication like lithium and talking therapies, helping people go long periods without symptoms.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

Torak guessed that she was wondering how her clan would punish her for helping their captive escape.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

help

Frequently Asked Questions

Example Sentences

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