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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

Researchers say that understanding how plague became established after the Black Death, remained present for centuries, and eventually disappeared from Europe could help scientists better understand the long term behavior of infectious diseases.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

“But, for sure, now we have a whole wave of small customers who no longer have that option available and would like to leverage ours. And we’re more than happy to help if we can.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 20, 2026

Creating this within a new Department for Growth would simplify red tape and help small and medium-sized businesses compete and grow, she said.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

With the help of informants, Ilie, Velicu, Vasile and a fourth Romanian man were apprehended.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

Dad offered to help, but they said they had it handled.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

His roommate, the same one he rented with, helps him pay the mortgage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

For pest control, however, the same behavior could become an advantage if it helps a treatment reach termites that never directly encounter treated wood.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026

It really helps his mental health and is an important part of his life.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026

A growing cadre of volunteers increasingly helps with the next step, the actual harvest, scooping acorns off the ground and into bags and buckets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

It’s still dark, but Alex’s orb helps me see him from the waist up.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

Those branches may have helped establish new reservoirs of Yersinia pestis in wild rodent populations.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

That technology is what has helped SpaceX keep costs down and improve its launch cadence over the years.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 20, 2026

She chaired the Congressional Black Caucus and helped secure Juneteenth as a federal holiday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

They’ve been a strong partner of the tenant protections that I helped pass and were a huge voice for charter reform, including some of the things that didn’t happen.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026

Oteg and I helped Katy Logan get herself and her dogs on board.

From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell

Preservatives are added to foods for several reasons, including preventing the growth of bacteria and mold, slowing spoilage, and helping products maintain their color, flavor, or freshness for longer.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

The roof work comes with the view of a distant crane, which is helping to build a competitor’s data center.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

Regardless of what station they work for, reporters and pilots are constantly helping each other, abiding by unspoken rules to keep each other safe.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

For most of the last 15 years, goods prices usually declined each year, helping maintain low inflation.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026

Even when I feared that using the recommendation would make it seem as though what he did was permissible or that he could pay for it by helping me get a job.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

help

Frequently Asked Questions

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

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