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View definitions for help

help

noun as in someone employed, usually as a servant or manual laborer.

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Example Sentences

In that situation, had there been a number to call to get the help of social workers, the result might have been different, according to Schwartz.

From Vox

Don’t try to fix a ballot with tape or correction fluid if you mess up, and don’t be embarrassed to ask for help.

Eighty-five percent of restaurants will probably close if we don’t get some help from the government.

From Ozy

Extra step — check whether your structured data actually works with the help of Google’s Rich Result Test.

The legislation offered limited help to tenants of the Galleria.

That strategy has been used in some cases to help determine GMO policy.

In the end, the clarity that comes from moments of horror can help us recommit to deeper principles.

Sadly, it appears the American press often doesn't need any outside help when it comes to censoring themselves.

A Wall Street person should not be allowed to help oversee the Dodd-Frank reforms.

Finding the common bonds that help us realize that we have far more in common than that which separates us.

And to tell the truth, she couldn't help wishing he could see, so he could make the game livelier.

Then with your victorious legions you can march south and help drive the Yankee invaders from the land.

In fact, except for Ramona's help, it would have been a question whether even Alessandro could have made Baba work in harness.

Terror drives you on; fate coerces you; you can't help yourself, and my delight is to make the plunge terrible.

There is always in the background of my mind dread lest help should reach the enemy before we have done with Sedd-el-Bahr.

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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.

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.

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