help
Americanverb (used with object)
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to give or provide what is necessary to accomplish a task or satisfy a need; contribute strength or means to; render assistance to; cooperate effectively with; aid; assist.
He planned to help me with my work. Let me help you with those packages.
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to save; rescue; succor.
Help me, I'm falling!
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to make easier or less difficult; contribute to; facilitate.
The exercise of restraint is certain to help the achievement of peace.
- Antonyms:
- hinder
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to be useful or profitable to.
Her quick mind helped her career.
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to refrain from; avoid (usually preceded by can orcannot ).
He can't help doing it.
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to relieve or break the uniformity of.
Small patches of bright color can help an otherwise dull interior.
- Synonyms:
- ameliorate
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to relieve (someone) in need, sickness, pain, or distress.
- Antonyms:
- afflict
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to remedy, stop, or prevent.
Nothing will help my headache.
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to serve food to at table (usually followed byto ).
Help her to salad.
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to serve or wait on (a customer), as in a store.
verb (used without object)
noun
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the act of helping; aid or assistance; relief or succor.
-
a person or thing that helps.
She certainly is a help in an emergency.
- Antonyms:
- hindrance
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a body of such helpers.
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a domestic servant or a farm laborer.
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means of remedying, stopping, or preventing.
The thing is done, and there is no help for it now.
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Older Use. helping.
interjection
verb phrase
idioms
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help oneself to,
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to serve oneself; take a portion of.
Help yourself to the cake.
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to take or use without asking permission; appropriate.
They helped themselves to the farmer's apples. Help yourself to any of the books we're giving away.
-
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so help me, (used as a mild form of the oath “so help me God”) I am speaking the truth; on my honor.
That's exactly what happened, so help me.
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cannot / can't help but, to be unable to refrain from or avoid; be obliged to.
Still, you can't help but admire her.
verb
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to assist or aid (someone to do something), esp by sharing the work, cost, or burden of something
he helped his friend to escape
she helped him climb out of the boat
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to alleviate the burden of (someone else) by giving assistance
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(tr) to assist (a person) to go in a specified direction
help the old lady up from the chair
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to promote or contribute to
to help the relief operations
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to cause improvement in (a situation, person, etc)
crying won't help
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(tr; preceded by can, could, etc; usually used with a negative)
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to avoid or refrain from
we can't help wondering who he is
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(usually foll by it) to prevent or be responsible for
I can't help it if it rains
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to alleviate (an illness, etc)
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(tr) to serve (a customer)
can I help you, madam?
-
-
to serve (someone with food, etc) (usually in the phrase help oneself )
may I help you to some more vegetables?
help yourself to peas
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to provide (oneself with) without permission
he's been helping himself to money out of the petty cash
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to be unable to do anything else except
I cannot help but laugh
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to assist a person in the removal of (clothes)
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to assist a person in the putting on of (clothes)
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on my honour
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no matter what
so help me, I'll get revenge
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noun
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the act of helping, or being helped, or a person or thing that helps
she's a great help
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a helping
-
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a person hired for a job; employee, esp a farm worker or domestic servant
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(functioning as singular) several employees collectively
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a means of remedy
there's no help for it
interjection
Usage
Cannot/can't help but has been condemned by some as the ungrammatical version of cannot/can’t help followed by the present participle: You can’t help but admire her. You can’t help admiring her. However, the idiom Cannot/can't help but is so common in all types of speech and writing that it must be characterized as standard.
Related Words
Help, aid, assist, succor agree in the idea of furnishing another with something needed, especially when the need comes at a particular time. Help implies furnishing anything that furthers one's efforts or relieves one's wants or necessities. Aid and assist, somewhat more formal, imply especially a furthering or seconding of another's efforts. Aid implies a more active helping; assist implies less need and less help. To succor, still more formal and literary, is to give timely help and relief in difficulty or distress: Succor him in his hour of need.
Other Word Forms
- helpable adjective
- helper noun
- underhelp noun
- unhelpable adjective
- unhelped adjective
- well-helped adjective
Etymology
Origin of help
First recorded before 900; Middle English helpen, Old English helpan; cognate with German helfen
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.
Starboard argued at the time that the sale of the “substantial majority” of Algonquin Power’s renewables assets could help the company reduce leverage and improve earnings per share.
From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026
Because microwaves generate heat throughout the food, they promote vapor formation and help maintain internal pressure that keeps oil from being absorbed as easily.
From Science Daily • Apr. 2, 2026
“For him to be as generous as he is and willing to help us with that, I think that’s a big deal,” Chesney said.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026
He shone in his country's title win - including in the decisive final game against England, where he ran in four tries to help seal back-to-back titles for the French.
From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026
I was happy to help him, especially when he said he’d give us a cut.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
