abet
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
- abetment noun
- abettal noun
- abetter noun
- unabetted adjective
- unabetting adjective
Etymology
Origin of abet
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English abette (source of Old French abeter, unless the latter, of Germanic origin, is the source of the Middle English), unattested Old English ābǣtan “to hound on,” equivalent to ā- a- 3 + bǣtan “to hunt, chase with dogs, pasture”; see origin at bait; akin to bite
Explanation
To abet is to help someone do something, usually something wrong. If you were the lookout while your older sister swiped cookies from the cookie jar, you abetted her mischief. The verb abet can be used to generally mean encouragement, but people usually expect to see it in relation to some crime. "The singer was abetted by a pianist in her rendition of Silver Bells," for example, is a harmless construction. However, people more often expect abet in a sentence like this: "She was charged with aiding and abetting the burglar because she drove the getaway car." Abet comes from an Old French word abeter meaning "to bait."
Vocabulary lists containing abet
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Antigone
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Henry David Thoreau "Civil Disobedience" (1849)
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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.
"And I'm not going to aid and abet them in their efforts to do that."
From BBC • Nov. 17, 2025
Mexico’s complaint alleged that the named firearms manufacturers and the named distributor aid and abet rogue dealers in the U.S. who illegally sell firearms to straw purchasers.
From Slate • Jun. 6, 2025
“The question is whether we use our federal resources as a city to aid and abet that deportation,” Blumenfield said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 22, 2025
While AirTags and other tracking devices have been used to thwart theft, privacy groups have also sounded alarms about their use to abet stalking or tracking people without their knowledge.
From New York Times • Aug. 19, 2022
Oh yes, there were plenty to aid and abet him; even he could not have held a horse race without someone to race against.
From "Absalom, Absalom!" by William Faulkner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
