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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

Clemo serves as incident commander for California Interagency Management Team 7, a federally coordinated group trained to help lead the response to wildfires across the nation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

America’s evolving economy deserves dynamic and flexible policies that help both workers and companies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

So getting, ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini to help with your speech or holiday plans is a bargain.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

The coming days will include a handful of events that should help keep bond traders on their toes.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026

Let me know if you need help with setup.

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

She said: "The guga hunt is a centuries-old tradition which reinforces our unique communal identity and helps families keep ancient Gaelic customs alive and relevant in the modern world."

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

When ratings are publicly disclosed, market discipline helps drive reliability because assumptions, methodologies and judgments are scrutinized by investors, analysts and journalists.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026

Marvel also benefits because “Brand New Day” helps to set up the story of its December team-up movie “Avengers: Doomsday.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

The amount of the protein rises and falls as the cells shift between rest, tissue repair, and self-renewal, suggesting that TRF2 helps organize the regeneration process.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 2, 2026

“Each one helps you with something you need.”

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

“We commend their heroic actions, which we believe helped drive the suspect away from the scene and prevent further casualties,” the department wrote in a statement on Facebook.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

Two years after Garber became commissioner, he helped save the league from bankruptcy and he’ll leave with the combined value of the league’s 30 teams estimated at $23 billion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

South Korea’s headline inflation moderated in July after reaching a 30-month high in June, partly because government measures helped restrain fuel and electricity prices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

She added her new dog had helped her through the grieving process.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

Mom had helped me study for it for the entire week with her infamous flash cards, but none of that mattered.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Rethinking how Measure B funds are allocated, Batchlor said, is a way of helping to ensure that hospitals that serve communities with the most financial needs and fewest healthcare options receive more financial assistance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

German startup Agile Robots expects its revenue to double this year from 300 million euros, helping it turn profitable in two to three years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

It highlights both countries' efforts to prevent a sell-off in the yen and Japanese government bonds from having an impact on the global economy, including potentially helping to push up borrowing costs for Washington.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

In theory, a private company helping investors get information quickly is a legitimate, widespread, and prosperous business model.

From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026

Why did everybody have to wreck things by talking about helping people?

From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott

help

Frequently Asked Questions

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

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