assist

[ uh-sist ]
See synonyms for: assistassistedassistingassists on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to give support or aid to; help: Please assist him in moving the furniture.

  2. to be associated with as an assistant or helper.

verb (used without object)
  1. to give aid or help.

  2. to be present, as at a meeting or ceremony.

noun
  1. Sports.

    • Baseball. a play that helps to put out a batter or base runner.

    • Basketball, Ice Hockey. a play that helps a teammate in gaining a goal.

    • the official credit scored for such plays.

  2. a helpful act: She finished her homework without an assist from her father.

  1. Machinery. an electrical, hydraulic, or mechanical means of increasing power, efficiency, or ease of use: a luxury automobile equipped with assists for brakes, steering, windows, and seat adjustment.

Origin of assist

1
First recorded in 1505–15; from Latin assistere “to stand by, help,” from as- as- + sistere “to cause to stand, stop,” derivative of stāre “to stand” (see also stand)

synonym study For assist

1. See help.

Other words for assist

Opposites for assist

Other words from assist

  • as·sist·er; Chiefly Law, as·sis·tor, noun
  • as·sist·ive, adjective
  • non·as·sist·er, noun
  • o·ver·as·sist, verb
  • re·as·sist, verb (used with object)
  • un·as·sist·ed, adjective
  • un·as·sist·ing, adjective
  • well-as·sist·ed, adjective

Words Nearby assist

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use assist in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for assist

assist

/ (əˈsɪst) /


verb
  1. to give help or support to (a person, cause, etc); aid

  2. to work or act as an assistant or subordinate to (another)

  1. ice hockey to help (a team-mate) to score, as by passing the puck

  2. (intr foll by at) archaic to be present; attend

noun
  1. US and Canadian the act of helping; aid; assistance

  2. baseball the act of a player who throws or deflects a batted ball in such a way that a team is enabled to put out an opponent

  1. sport

    • a pass or other action by a player which enables another player to score a goal

    • a credit given for such an action

Origin of assist

1
C15: from French assister to be present, from Latin assistere to stand by, from sistere to cause to stand, from stāre to stand

Derived forms of assist

  • assister, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012