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assistant

American  
[uh-sis-tuhnt] / əˈsɪs tənt /

noun

  1. a person who assists or gives aid and support; helper.

  2. a person who is subordinate to another in rank, function, etc.; one holding a secondary rank in an office or post.

    He was assistant to the office manager.
    Synonyms:
    adjutant, aide

  3. something that aids and supplements another.

  4. a faculty member of a college or university who ranks below an instructor and whose responsibilities usually include grading papers, supervising laboratories, and assisting in teaching.

adjective

  1. assisting; helpful.

  2. serving in an immediately subordinate position; of secondary rank.

    an assistant coach.
assistant British  
/ əˈsɪstənt /

noun

    1. a person who assists, esp in a subordinate position

    2. ( as modifier )

      assistant manager

  2. See shop assistant

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. archaic helpful or useful as an aid

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • nonassistant noun
  • unassistant adjective

Etymology

Origin of assistant

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English assistent, from Latin assistent-, stem of assistēns “standing by,” present participle of assistere “to stand by, help”; assist

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.