aid
verb (used with object)
to provide support for or relief to; help.
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aid
1 American
[eyd]
/ 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
[eyd]
/ 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
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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
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are aidingprogressive
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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:
A leading aid group said Monday that migrants crossing the Mediterranean and rescue ships that help them face increasing levels of threat and harassment from Libyan groups.
From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026
Though the companies continue to run the centers holding thousands of detainees, federal ownership could aid their defense in the event of legal action.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
This can boost our metabolism, which may aid in long-term weight maintenance.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
Even though “war” is somewhat metaphorical here, it has always been waged like one, with military-grade equipment used to police neighborhoods, support clandestine spying operations and aid in the invasion of cities.
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026
These goals and objectives are used in lesson planning to focus the lesson, and to aid in effective assessment.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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
Percentages of employees asking for exemptions also vary, from 10.2 percent at the Department of Veterans Affairs to 1.3 percent at AID and the State Department.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 24, 2021
When education is concentrated in the hands of the few, the AID is low because most people have the same low level of educational attainment.
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
There may be something similar with Judge Montgomery-Reeves: She worked closely with the Legal Aid Society’s Prisoners’ Rights project for several years, and I think that may have imparted a civil libertarian streak.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026
An unlikely coalition of supporters has lined up, from the libertarian Cato Institute to the Legal Aid Society to the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
The Office of Federal Student Aid argues that a high nonpayment rate represents a “serious risk” of developing a high default rate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
On Aug. 5, New York will become the 14th U.S. state to legalize Medical Aid in Dying, or MAID.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
Would you like to receive information on Financial Aid?
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
EssilorLuxottica has also branched into hearing correction, with its Nuance Audio integrating hearing aids into eyeglasses frames.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Current NHS support includes physiotherapy and walking aids.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
When he recently took his in-laws to get fitted for new hearing aids, he popped open his laptop and used a hot spot to send emails and edit video in time to meet a deadline.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
The companies on Monday unveiled the 4 Troop, a multi-role civil vehicle equipped with data-processing capabilities, integrated systems to operate unmanned aerial and ground vehicles, and decision aids enabled by artificial intelligence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
It is said that other villages along the shores of Lake Victoria have been essentially wiped off the map by aids.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
Sorcinelli, aided by 11 seamstresses, displayed the green silk forming the basis of Leo's vestment for Rimini, rolling out the sumptuous fabric onto a long table.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
“Next week’s EIA report is also expected to print another smaller-than-normal build due to hot temperatures this past week and aided by lighter wind energy generation,” NatGasWeather.com says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Local firefighters aided by colleagues deployed from the capital, Bogotá, and the disaster response team of the national police force had to dig two tunnels to reach her.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Friday to the 11000 block of Villa Hermosa in response to a “mental health episode” and were aided by a clinical therapist from the Community Behavioral Assessment Team.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
Thus, the high percentage of hermaphroditic selfers in the Fertile Crescent flora aided early farmers, because it meant that a high percentage of the wild flora had a reproductive biology convenient for humans.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
This supports a higher resting energy expenditure, aiding long-term weight maintenance.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
Washington has blacklisted Unitree and dozens of other Chinese tech firms it says are aiding the military.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
The Sparks got a potential lottery pick, another draft pick and a starting guard out of their trade with the Mercury for Kelsey Plum, aiding their rebuild.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Salesforce shares rose 6.1%, part of a strong day for software stocks. 3M, Walmart, McDonald’s and American Express were all up 2% or more, aiding the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
“You are summoned to the New York Provincial Congress for suspicion of aiding the enemy, Elihu. I am placing you under arrest. These soldiers will escort you.”
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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.
