aid
verb (used with object)
to provide support for or relief to; help.
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aid
1 American
[ayd]
/ eɪd /
verb (used with object)
-
aids,
present (3rd person singular)
-
aided,
past participle, past
-
aiding
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
aids,
present (3rd person singular)
-
aided,
past participle, past
-
aiding
present participle
noun
-
aids
plural
-
help or support; assistance.
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a person or thing that aids or furnishes assistance; helper; auxiliary.
-
Manège. aids,
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Also called natural aids. the means by which a rider communicates with and controls a horse, as the hands, legs, voice, and shifts in weight.
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Also called artificial aids. the devices used by a rider to increase control of a horse, as spurs, whip, and martingale.
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a payment made by feudal vassals to their lord on special occasions.
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English History. (after 1066) any of several revenues received by a king in the Middle Ages from his vassals and other subjects, limited by the Magna Charta to specified occasions.
AID
2
American
[ayd]
/ eɪd /
noun
U.S. Government.
AID
3
American
abbreviation
-
American Institute of Decorators.
-
American Institute of Interior Designers.
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British. artificial insemination donor. Also A.I.D.
aid
1
British
/ eɪd /
verb
-
to give support to (someone to do something); help or assist
-
(tr) to assist financially
noun
-
assistance; help; support
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a person, device, etc, that helps or assists
a teaching aid
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Also: artificial aid. mountaineering any of various devices such as piton or nut when used as a direct help in the ascent
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(in medieval Europe; in England after 1066) a feudal payment made to the king or any lord by his vassals, usually on certain occasions such as the marriage of a daughter or the knighting of an eldest son
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informal in support of; for the purpose of
AID
2
British
abbreviation
-
acute infectious disease
-
artificial insemination (by) donor: former name for Donor Insemination (DI)
Aid
3
British
combining form
Commonly Confused
Although the nouns aid and aide both have among their meanings “an assisting person,” the spelling aide is increasingly used for the sense “helper, assistant”: One of the senator's aides is calling. Aide in military use is short for aide-de-camp. It is also the spelling in nurse's aide.
Synonym Usage
See help.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
aidsimple
-
aidssimple
-
have aidedperfect
-
has aidedperfect
-
am aidingprogressive
-
are aidingprogressive
-
is aidingprogressive
-
have been aidingperfect progressive
-
has been aidingperfect progressive
Past
-
aidedsimple
-
had aidedperfect
-
was aidingprogressive
-
were aidingprogressive
-
had been aidingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of aid1
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English noun aide, eide, from Anglo-French, Old French aide, derivative of verb aid(i)er, from Latin adjūtāre “to help”; see also adjuvant ( def. )
Origin of AID2
A(gency for) I(nternational) D(evelopment)
Explanation
Aid is what you do when you help someone — you come to their aid. Rich countries provide economic aid to poor countries, and if you cut your hand, you'll be looking in the first aid kit for a Band-Aid. You can also use aid as a verb: "The librarian will aid you in your search." English has some words with meanings related to aid, but they're spelled with an -e on the end, because they come from the French. A nurse's aide is someone who assists a nurse. An aide-de-camp is a close assistant and confidant to a military officer, a word often shortened to just aide, to refer to an assistant to a political official.
Vocabulary lists containing aid
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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.
See Examples For:
The crisis is being exacerbated by what the signatories describe as systematic obstruction of aid and the effects of El Niño, which has reduced rainfall and increased drought across more than half of Sudan.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026
Humanitarian aid and evacuation buses will begin arriving later in the week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
Or when the married writer-director team in charge of their project isn’t demonstrating what needs to happen with the aid of an intimacy coordinator.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
CBN is now widely promoted as a sleep aid, yet important questions remain unanswered.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026
PIH staff has begun to focus on methods of structuring aid and loans so that in the future the sick and indigent will be the primary beneficiaries.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
“We sort of set out with a goal of at least 50,000 and people said we were crazy, and we are exceeding those numbers,” said Jonathan Barsade, president of AID Coalition, which launched the program.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
To support this future research, the team seeks long-term, open-access AID datasets that include a wide range of sensor measurements of possible factors and a diverse cohort of people with T1D.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 27, 2024
AID official, was in East Africa to pledge aid to help the region’s fight against hunger amid a devastating multi-year drought.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 27, 2022
As access to schooling expands, inequality as measured by the AID rises because the population now contains many people who have no education and many who have several years of schooling.
From Nature ● Apr. 14, 2020
“Can you believe they even gave her that AID virus and injected her into monkeys?”
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
The Aid Coalition has launched a non-partisan initiative, called Fly & Vote, to assist Israelis abroad who want to return for the election.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
Appeared in the October 13, 2026, print edition as 'Why Diesel Proposal Won’t Aid Prices Much'.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
In Woods’ case, she contacted both her servicer and the Education Department’s Office of Federal Student Aid, or FSA, asking why her debt still appeared on her credit report.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
Aid agencies argue that the dangers for women in Gaza could be greatly eased by improving humanitarian conditions.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Would you like to receive information on Financial Aid?
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Instead, it aids exercise, helping you lift heavier weights or do more reps per set.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
Still the glory of Mr. Groom’s “Vampire Tales” lies in its reading aids.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Sleeping better — or getting hearing aids or cataract surgery — won’t immunize you from all types of fraud.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
While others with hearing disorders can perceive certain low-frequency vibrations as sound, for Pride almost everything is completely inaudible without powerful hearing aids.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
See, normal hearing aids usually have a part that wraps around the outer ear to hold the inner bud in place.
From "Wonder" by R. J. Palacio
The companies decided to proceed with the project in July this year, and have earmarked it for fast-tracked development, aided by using existing pipelines and processing plants in Egypt that will help accelerate production.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
That number was aided by the massive box office reception for Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” which has grossed nearly $1.8 billion worldwide.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
Then, aided by a well-connected lobbyist and the sheen of credibility from its association with the university, Navatek would approach the member for federal research funding.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
The Swansea centre-back finds his left winger, aided by their left-back dragging the opposition winger with him.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
Which of the village folk had aided him?
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Dinah Bonzi, an official in the Bank of Ghana's currency department, said anyone aiding or promoting such activities could also be arrested and prosecuted.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
He argues the technology could modernize court infrastructure, aiding in case management, scheduling and document processing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Four of those charges were of aiding and abetting the offending committed by her husband Jeffrey Donaldson.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Foreign experts, including from China, India, and South Korea, are aiding Nepali teams in rescue efforts -- among them Dix.
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026
We had no doubts that men at the highest levels of the police and the security forces were aiding the Third Force.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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