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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

They also help people recognize threats, evaluate uncertainty, establish trust, and coordinate actions with others.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

This potential connection could help researchers explore relationships between brain activity and symbolic communication, although further research would be needed to establish them.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

Glioblastoma is among the most lethal forms of brain cancer, and scientists have uncovered a surprising factor that may help its cells become more invasive.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

When aspiring paramedic Ethan ordered three resuscitation manikins so he could teach CPR to others, he had no idea how quickly he would put his training into practice and help save a life.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

In 1998, the society had enough of Dr. Harlow's money left to help pay for the bronze monument to Phineas Gage on the town green in Cavendish, Vermont.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

Treatments targeting YAP signaling or the remodeling of the cytoskeleton, the internal framework that helps cells maintain and change their shape, could therefore be investigated under conditions that more closely resemble those inside tumors.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

A hefty win here helps the English cause, but they still need work and luck to avoid missing the World Cup last four for the first time ever.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

The research, now published in Science Advances, has uncovered a distinctive chemical signature that not only helps identify Bennu's origins but also provides new evidence about the processes that shaped the early Solar System.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

But she and other doctors stress to new mothers that breast-feeding helps women lose pregnancy weight as well.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

He tries to sit up on his own, but Dad catches him and helps him the rest of the way.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

Jupiter may therefore have helped determine not only where these ancient asteroids formed but also which ingredients became incorporated into them.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

A bunch of AI-lab ETFs recently arrived to the market, including one centered around OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, which had helped popularize artificial intelligence after it was introduced to the public in late 2022.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 24, 2026

Baltimore’s engagement with the new technology began almost immediately; in 1840, Henry Fitz Jr. helped invent the first commercial camera and opened a photo studio here.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

Patel, the Brookings analyst and a former Postal Regulatory Commission employee, said that more direct communication to voters could have helped change their behavior.

From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2026

The boys followed, and I helped Auntie clear up before going back upstairs to my bedroom.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

Their muscles also developed more fibers with a high capacity for using oxygen, helping improve physical endurance.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

Ruffin and Miller, whom I’ve known for years through their work helping and housing homeless people, will likely be the first to return to West Palm.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026

Those future samples could provide another important piece of the puzzle, helping researchers determine how different regions of the early Solar System exchanged material and ultimately produced the planets, moons, and asteroids we observe today.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

“I’m going to be helping a certain air company get themselves straightened away,” he said, after he learned it has significant domestic operations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

He probably chastised one of them for helping the wrong way, so they forgot to come back to his room.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

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