help

help (h

lp)

v. helped, help·ing, helps

v.tr.

1. To give assistance to; aid: I helped her find the book. He helped me into my coat.

2. To contribute to the furtherance of; promote.

3. To give relief to: help the needy.

4. To ease; relieve: medication to help your cold.

5. To change for the better; improve: A fresh coat of paint will help a scarred old table.

6. To refrain from; avoid or resist. Used with can or cannot: couldn't help laughing.

7. To wait on, as in a store or restaurant.

v.intr.

To be of service; give assistance.

a. The act or an instance of helping.

b. Aid or assistance.

2. Relief; remedy.

3. One that helps: You've been a great help. A food processor is a help to the serious cook.

4. A person employed to help, especially a farm worker or domestic servant.

Such employees considered as a group. Often used with the.

Idiom:

help (oneself) to

1. To serve or provide oneself with: Help yourself to the cookies.

2. Informal To take (something) without asking permission: The thief helped himself to our family silver.

[Middle English helpen, from Old English helpan.]

Synonyms: help, aid, assist, succor
These verbs mean to contribute to the fulfillment of a need, the furtherance of an effort, or the achievement of a purpose or end. Help and aid, the most general, are frequently interchangeable: a medication that helps (or aids) the digestion.
Help, however, sometimes conveys a stronger suggestion of effectual action: I'll help you move the piano.
Assist usually implies making a secondary contribution or acting as a subordinate: Apprentices assisted the chef in preparing the banquet.
Succor refers to going to the relief of one in want, difficulty, or distress: "Mr. Harding thought . . . of the worn-out, aged men he had succored" Anthony Trollope. See Also Synonyms at improve.

Usage Note: Many people commonly use help in the sense conveyed in the sentence Don't change it any more than you can help (that is, "any more than you have to"). Some grammarians condemn this usage on the grounds that help in this sense means "avoid" and therefore logically requires a negative. But the expression is a well-established idiom. See Usage Note at cannot.

help

Verb

1. to assist (someone to do something)

2. to contribute to: to help Latin America's economies

3. to improve a situation: a felt or rubber underlay will help

a. to refrain from: I couldn't help feeling foolish

b. to be responsible for: you must not blame him, he simply can't help it

5. to serve (a customer)

6. help oneself to take something, esp. food or drink, for oneself, without being served

Noun

1. the act of helping

2. a person or thing that helps, esp. a farm worker or domestic servant

3. a remedy: there's no help for it

interj

used to call for assistance

See also help out [Old English helpan]

helper n

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Noun	1.	help - the activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose; "he gave me an assist with the housework"; "could not walk without assistance"; "rescue party went to their aid"; "offered his help in unloading" assist, assistance, aid activity - any specific behavior; "they avoided all recreational activity" self-help - the act of helping or improving yourself without relying on anyone else facilitation - act of assisting or making easier the progress or improvement of something helping hand, hand - physical assistance; "give me a hand with the chores" recourse, refuge, resort - act of turning to for assistance; "have recourse to the courts"; "an appeal to his uncle was his last resort" thanks - with the help of or owing to; "thanks to hard work it was a great success" ministration, succor, succour, relief - assistance in time of difficulty; "the contributions provided some relief for the victims" lift - the act of giving temporary assistance service - an act of help or assistance; "he did them a service" accommodation - the act of providing something (lodging or seat or food) to meet a need boost, encouragement - the act of giving hope or support to someone comfort - assistance, such as that provided to an enemy or to a known criminal; "it gave comfort to the enemy" support - aiding the cause or policy or interests of; "the president no longer has the support of his own party"; "they developed a scheme of mutual support"
	2.	help - a person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose; "my invaluable assistant"; "they hired additional help to finish the work" assistant, helper, supporter coadjutor - an assistant to a bishop worker - a person who works at a specific occupation; "he is a good worker" accomplice, confederate - a person who joins with another in carrying out some plan (especially an unethical or illegal plan) auxiliary, aide - someone who acts as assistant attendant, attender, tender - someone who waits on or tends to or attends to the needs of another bat boy - (baseball) a boy who takes care of bats and other baseball equipment dental assistant - an assistant to a dentist deputy, lieutenant - an assistant with power to act when his superior is absent actor's assistant, dresser - a wardrobe assistant for an actor event planner - someone who plans social events as a profession (usually for government or corporate officials) facilitator - someone who makes progress easier flower girl - a young girl who carries flowers in a (wedding) procession girl Friday - a female assistant who has a range of duties enforcer, hatchet man - one whose job it is to execute unpleasant tasks for a superior cat's-paw, pawn, instrument - a person used by another to gain an end birthing coach, doula, labor coach, monitrice - an assistant (often the father of the soon-to-be-born child) who provides support for a woman in labor by encouraging her to use techniques learned in childbirth-preparation classes underboss - an assistant or second-in-command to a chief (especially in a crime syndicate) fashion model, manakin, mannequin, mannikin, manikin, model - a woman who wears clothes to display fashions; "she was too fat to be a mannequin" poser, model - a person who poses for a photographer or painter or sculptor; "the president didn't have time to be a model so the artist worked from photos" paraprofessional - a trained worker who is not a member of a profession but who assists a professional powder monkey - someone who carries explosives (as from the magazine to the guns on board a warship) prompter, theater prompter - someone who assists a performer by providing the next words of a forgotten speech chief assistant, man Friday, right-hand man - the most helpful assistant secretarial assistant, secretary - an assistant who handles correspondence and clerical work for a boss or an organization sidesman - (Church of England) an assistant to the churchwarden; collects offerings of money in the church subordinate, subsidiary, underling, foot soldier - an assistant subject to the authority or control of another water boy, waterer - an assistant who supplies drinking water whipper-in - huntsman's assistant in managing the hounds
	3.	help - a resource; "visual aids in teaching" aid, assistance resource - a source of aid or support that may be drawn upon when needed; "the local library is a valuable resource"
	4.	help - a means of serving; "of no avail"; "there's no help for it" avail, service helpfulness - the property of providing useful assistance
Verb	1.	help - give help or assistance; be of service; "Everyone helped out during the earthquake"; "Can you help me carry this table?"; "She never helps around the house" aid, assist facilitate, alleviate, ease - make easier; "you could facilitate the process by sharing your knowledge" wait on, attend to, assist, attend, serve - work for or be a servant to; "May I serve you?"; "She attends the old lady in the wheelchair"; "Can you wait on our table, please?"; "Is a salesperson assisting you?"; "The minister served the King for many years" benefact - help as a benefactor; "The father benefacted his daughter in more ways than she was aware of" help out - be of help, as in a particular situation of need; "Can you help out tonight with the dinner guests?" subserve - be helpful or useful succor, succour - help in a difficult situation expedite, hasten - speed up the progress of; facilitate; "This should expedite the process" avail - be of use to, be useful to; "It will avail them to dispose of their booty" give care, care - provide care for; "The nurse was caring for the wounded" bootstrap - help oneself, often through improvised means back up, support - give moral or psychological support, aid, or courage to; "She supported him during the illness"; "Her children always backed her up"
	2.	help - improve the condition of; "These pills will help the patient" aid cure, bring around, heal - provide a cure for, make healthy again; "The treatment cured the boy's acne"; "The quack pretended to heal patients but never managed to" ameliorate, improve, meliorate, amend, better - to make better; "The editor improved the manuscript with his changes" do good, benefit - be beneficial for; "This will do you good"
	3.	help - be of use; "This will help to prevent accidents" facilitate serve - contribute or conduce to; "The scandal served to increase his popularity"
	4.	help - abstain from doing; always used with a negative; "I can't help myself--I have to smoke"; "She could not help watching the sad spectacle" help oneself refrain, forbear - resist doing something; "He refrained from hitting him back"; "she could not forbear weeping"
	5.	help - help to some food; help with food or drink; "I served him three times, and after that he helped himself" serve dish, dish up, serve up, dish out, serve - provide (usually but not necessarily food); "We serve meals for the homeless"; "She dished out the soup at 8 P.M."; "The entertainers served up a lively show" cater, ply, provide, supply - give what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance; "The hostess provided lunch for all the guests"
	6.	help - contribute to the furtherance of; "This money will help the development of literacy in developing countries" encourage, promote, further, boost, advance - contribute to the progress or growth of; "I am promoting the use of computers in the classroom"
	7.	help - take or use; "She helped herself to some of the office supplies" avail exploit, work - use or manipulate to one's advantage; "He exploit the new taxation system"; "She knows how to work the system"; "he works his parents for sympathy"
	8.	help - improve; change for the better; "New slipcovers will help the old living room furniture" ameliorate, improve, meliorate, amend, better - to make better; "The editor improved the manuscript with his changes"

help

verb 1. (sometimes with out) aid, back, support, second, encourage, promote, assist, relieve, stand by, befriend, cooperate with, abet, lend a hand, succour, lend a helping hand, give someone a leg up (informal) << OPPOSITE hinder