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

Fearing that authorities were actively erasing culpability, the victim's family appealed for help.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

Last week, TWG said it would swap in $6.5 billion of unaffiliated assets to help bring the numbers down.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

The rationale is that strategy will help him rediscover his confidence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

He warned that if practices stop providing NHS treatment, many patients could be left in pain or forced to seek help elsewhere in the health service, including hospital accident and emergency departments.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

Last time you asked for help, he told you to reread the chapter.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Save the Student helps share various scholarships and bursaries on their website.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

I also volunteer most weekends at Furniture Assist, a local charity that helps provide home furnishings and clothing to people who are financially struggling.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 23, 2026

The newspaper To Vima hailed this "new wave" which "helps raise the country’s international profile".

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

Businesses including PricewaterhouseCoopers and law firm Freshfields are bringing in more apprentices, saying it helps them tap a wider pool of candidates who can develop skills over a longer period.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

I’m more than halfway through since I started reading it, and it’s so good that it helps an hour go by.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

Not wanting to go to school or go out, her support worker Russell helped her, and she started going out once or twice a week.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

Profits from his book sales, which he estimates as likely to be in the millions of dollars, helped fund his acquisitions, Barton said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

It helped save my sanity and re-charge my enthusiasm while keeping high school sports going at a time of uncertainty.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

But meeting other people with CMN through the charity Caring Matters Now has helped change that.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

As we helped ourselves to coffee, two white women entered the room with a burst of laughter and chatter.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

McMahon said parents should be able to object when they believe AI isn’t helping their children, while acknowledging schools are still learning what effective AI education looks like.

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026

The technology works by helping water droplets form more easily and detach more quickly, a combination that could improve energy efficiency in power plants and desalination facilities while also enhancing the cooling of electronic devices.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026

He was serenaded by those inside the Stade Pierre-Mauroy after helping Lille defeat Real Madrid in the Champions League on his 17th birthday.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

After retiring in 2022, Cannom volunteered at the John Wesley Clinic in downtown Los Angeles, helping the homeless and underserved communities who might not otherwise receive cardiac care.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

Mom had insisted on helping me with the move, but I’d have given anything to make this walk across the misty early-morning campus by myself.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

help

Frequently Asked Questions

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Related Words