adjective
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unable to manage independently
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made powerless or weak
they were helpless from so much giggling
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without help
Other Word Forms
- helplessly adverb
- helplessness noun
Etymology
Origin of helpless
Explanation
To be helpless is to have no ability to take care of or protect yourself from harm. A newborn baby is helpless, and needs parents to care for her. If you're helpless, you're dependent on other people to assist or care for you. Breaking both your legs will leave you helpless, and even being in an unfamiliar city can make you feel helpless as you wander around looking for your hotel late at night. You can also use helpless to mean "irresistible" or "uncontrollable," especially when someone bursts out laughing: "They broke into helpless laughter during his speech."
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.
Many of our children’s favorite apps and social-media sites were built from the ground up to keep young users hooked and helpless to look away, consequences to their health and well-being be damned.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 27, 2026
"I can't imagine how helpless people must have been," she said between heavy sighs, adding: "I really regret that I didn't knock on a single door."
From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026
Team USA’s vaunted offense looked helpless against veteran Michael Lorenzen.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026
Veliz says that people haven't turned their backs on privacy; but they can feel helpless about it.
From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026
With his parents gone, he wound up in a filthy orphanage, more like a prison than a home for helpless kids.
From I Survived the American Revolution, 1776 by Lauren Tarshis
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.
