sidekick
Americannoun
-
a close friend.
-
a confederate or assistant.
noun
Etymology
Origin of sidekick
Explanation
A sidekick is a buddy who comes with you on your adventures. If you’re a superhero, your sidekick helps you fight crime. Electra Woman’s sidekick was the teenage Dyna Girl, and in the ‘70s they defeated villains on TV. A sidekick might be a work assistant, a best friend, or even a devoted dog that follows you to school every day. Sometimes this word signifies an imbalance of power, though; if you say, “This is my sidekick, Sarah," it implies that Sarah has less authority than you do. The origin of this word is unknown, but we do know that it appeared after the terms side-pal and side-partner fell out of fashion.
Vocabulary lists containing sidekick
Superhero Lexicon
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New Kid
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Comic Book Day
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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.
And for a time he becomes the sidekick of an out-of-work guerrilla in the Central African Republic.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
He also helped introduce the Batman villain Killer Croc, as well as Jason Todd, the young man who would succeed Dick Grayson as Batman’s sidekick Robin.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 28, 2026
Over the course of the regular season, James had demoted himself to a sidekick role, sacrificing shot attempts while Austin Reaves and MVP candidate Luka Doncic took over the limelight.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026
Meanwhile, he and others relegated Huerta to sidekick status, both in the trenches and in the public — and the image makers followed his lead.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2026
Akivo had a sidekick now, a mutt with floppy ears.
From "I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005" 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.
