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• guide
  guide

  verb (used with object)

  to assist (a person) to travel through, or reach a destination in, an unfamiliar area, as by accompanying or giving directions to the person.
• Guide
  Guide

  noun

  (sometimes not capital) a member of an organization for girls equivalent to the Scouts

guide

American  

[gahyd] / gaɪd /

verb (used with object)

• guides,
  present (3rd person singular)
• guided,
  past participle,  past
• guiding
  present participle

1. to assist (a person) to travel through, or reach a destination in, an unfamiliar area, as by accompanying or giving directions to the person.

   He guided us through the forest.

   Synonyms:

   escort, steer, pilot

   Antonyms:

   follow

2. to accompany (a sightseer) to show points of interest and to explain their meaning or significance.

3. to force (a person, object, or animal) to move in a certain path.

4. to supply (a person) with advice or counsel, as in practical or spiritual affairs.

5. to supervise (someone's actions or affairs) in an advisory capacity.

   Synonyms:

   rule, govern, manage, regulate

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noun

• guides
  plural

1. a person who guides, especially one hired to guide travelers, tourists, hunters, etc.

   Synonyms:

   conductor, director, pilot

2. a mark, tab, or the like, to catch the eye and thus provide quick reference.

   Synonyms:

   clue, key, indication, signal, sign

3. a guidebook.

4. a book, pamphlet, etc., giving information, instructions, or advice; handbook.

   an investment guide.

5. a guidepost.

6. a device that regulates or directs progressive motion or action.

   a sewing-machine guide.

7. a spirit believed to direct the utterances of a medium.

8. Military. a member of a group marching in formation who sets the pattern of movement or alignment for the rest.

guide ¹ British  

/ ɡaɪd /

verb

1. to lead the way for (a person)

2. to control the movement or course of (an animal, vehicle, etc) by physical action; steer

3. to supervise or instruct (a person)

4. (tr) to direct the affairs of (a person, company, nation, etc)

   he guided the country through the war

5. (tr) to advise or influence (a person) in his standards or opinions

   let truth guide you always

---

noun

1. 1. a person, animal, or thing that guides

   2. ( as modifier )

      a guide dog

2. a person, usually paid, who conducts tour expeditions, etc

3. a model or criterion, as in moral standards or accuracy

4. See guidebook

5. a book that instructs or explains the fundamentals of a subject or skill

   a guide to better living

6. any device that directs the motion of a tool or machine part

7. 1. a mark, sign, etc, that points the way

   2. ( in combination )

      guidepost

8. spiritualism a spirit believed to influence a medium so as to direct what he utters and convey messages through him

9. 1. navy a ship in a formation used as a reference for manoeuvres, esp with relation to maintaining the correct formation and disposition

   2. military a soldier stationed to one side of a column or line to regulate alignment, show the way, etc

Guide ² British  

/ ɡaɪd /

noun

1. US equivalent: Girl Scout.  (sometimes not capital) a member of an organization for girls equivalent to the Scouts

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Usage

What are other ways to say guide?

To guide someone is to assist them in traveling through or in reaching a destination by accompanying them or giving them directions. How does guide compare to synonyms conduct, direct, and lead? Find out on Thesaurus.com.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• guider
  noun
• preguide
  verb (used with object)
• reguide
  verb (used with object)
• guidable
  adjective
• guideless
  adjective
• guiding
  adjective
• nonguidable
  adjective
• unguidable
  adjective
• guidingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• guides
  plural

Participles

• guiding
  present
• guided
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• guide
  simple
• guides
  simple
• have guided
  perfect
• has guided
  perfect
• am guiding
  progressive
• are guiding
  progressive
• is guiding
  progressive
• have been guiding
  perfect progressive
• has been guiding
  perfect progressive

Past

• guided
  simple
• had guided
  perfect
• was guiding
  progressive
• were guiding
  progressive
• had been guiding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will guide
  simple
• will have guided
  perfect
• will be guiding
  progressive
• will have been guiding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of guide

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English giden (verb), gide (noun), from Old French gui(d)er (verb), gui(d)e (noun), from Germanic; akin to wit ² ( def. )

Explanation

A guide is someone who shows you the way. You'd be lucky to have a kind older sibling to act as your guide through middle school, giving you advice and helping you figure out the school and social scenes. A guide often leads tourists through a city, taking them to important sites, or assists a group of mountain climbers. Another kind of guide is a book of helpful instructions about what to see in a particular country, how to get along with your teenager, or the best way to grow orchids. When you guide people, you help them find their way, whether it's through the New York subway system or through the steps of building a campfire.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

guide Guide guides guided guiding

The results provide new insight into viruses that persist in the body and could eventually help guide strategies for preventing or treating their reactivation.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

It took two days for safari guide Kago Kanowa to find a violet-backed starling in the bush near northern Botswana’s Chobe Game Lodge.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

“What people are really looking for is a guide, and for the adviser to be a thought partner,” Garrett says.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

If she were to come to you, what she should be listening to or watching, what’s the guide you’d give her?

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

“We are not far now from where the stones lie. Why, they are simply up those cliffs, and through the caverns. But if I am to guide you there, I cannot do so in chains.”

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Shock and grief have hit members of the alpine climbing community with the President of Nepal's National Mountain Guide Association Tul Singh Gurung saying they had "lost a generation of accomplished mountaineers".

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

Kathy L. McNair, author of “The Solo Senior’s Guide to Thrive” and an estate-planning attorney in Belmont, Mass., sees this happen frequently among retirees.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 2026

Guest: Cory Doctorow, sci-fi author, journalist, blogger and author of “The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI.”

From Slate ● Jun. 26, 2026

Prior to his TV career, Shalit was a senior film critic for Look Magazine, and continued to spend years penning columns in the New York Times, Ladies' Home Journal and TV Guide.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

Simon took the Hixby’s Guide and unfolded the map.

From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood

Then there's Nima Sherpa, 36, who scaled four eight-thousanders in 2026 alone, and Nawang Thindu Sherpa, who in his 20s was among Nepal's rising generation of mountain guides.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

Because of how remote Pakistan's mountains are, it is far more challenging to organise expeditions there – a feat that only the best guides undertake, Sherpas tell the BBC.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

She guides her clients to prompt AI to engage in the natural give-and-take of a conversation instead of asking it to generate a full script.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

Users create maps, fictional diary entries, survival guides, found-footage videos and first-person explorations that collectively expand the world.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026

Carlos is pleased; Kim guides him into the kitchen.

From "Ghost Boys" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Miraz guided the tail superbly for his 65 from 154 balls as the Bangladesh lower order frustrated Australia's tiring bowling attack.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

The tours are all guided and numbers have been kept low -- at just 275 people a night.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

They guided human stem cells into becoming heart muscle cells.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026

Looking ahead, Brinker guided for adjusted earnings of $12.60 to $13.40 a share on revenue of $6.15 billion to $6.27 billion in the coming fiscal year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

“You have guided us well,” he said quietly to the dwarf.

From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander

The review would be done by the Los Angeles Continuum of Care, a behind-the-scenes board of community members that fills a Congressionally-mandated role guiding policy for federally-funded programs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

Emanuel is best known as executive chairman of Hollywood talent agency WME, and rose to prominence guiding the careers of stars including Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

The US-Iran deadlock and rising crude costs comes as traders await the release of consumer price data on Wednesday, which could play a key role in guiding the Fed on its next move.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

Previously Datadog was guiding for revenue of between $4.3 billion and $4.34 billion and adjusted earnings per share of between $2.36 and $2.44.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

And that is what Aeneas’s young son did under the guiding hand of Alecto.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

Related Words

• accompany
• advise
• educate
• escort
• govern
• handle
• influence
• instruct
• manage
• maneuver
• navigate
• oversee
• regulate
• see
• shepherd
• steer
• supervise
• sway
• teach
• train