helpful
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- helpfully adverb
- helpfulness noun
- overhelpful adjective
- overhelpfully adverb
- overhelpfulness noun
- quasi-helpful adjective
- quasi-helpfully adverb
- unhelpful adjective
- unhelpfully adverb
Etymology
Origin of helpful
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.
What is most helpful to sustaining those expansionary periods now and in the future?
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
"We have had people message us and say to us on the day as well what a difference it has made and how helpful they have found it," she added.
From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026
Chromosomal inversions do more than preserve helpful traits.
From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026
An overwhelming majority of system users in a study commissioned by the agency that oversees the lifeline said they found it helpful and potentially lifesaving.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026
I wanted to be helpful, and I didn’t want Declaration to move—ever.
From Each Little Bird That Sings by Deborah Wiles
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.
