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aid

[eyd]

||

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR aid ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to provide support for or relief to; help: to aid the homeless victims of the fire.

to promote the progress or accomplishment of; facilitate.

verb (used without object)

to give help or assistance.

noun

help or support; assistance.

a person or thing that aids or furnishes assistance; helper; auxiliary.

aids, Manège.

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.
Also called artificial aids.the devices by means of which a rider increases control of a horse, as spurs, whip, and martingale.

a payment made by feudal vassals to their lord on special occasions.

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.

Origin of aid

1375–1425; (noun) late Middle English ayde < Anglo-French, Old French aide, noun derivative of aid(i)er < Latin adjūtāre to help (frequentative of adjuvāre), equivalent to ad- ad- + -jū- help + -t- frequentative suffix + -āre infinitive suffix; (v.) < Anglo-French, Old French aid(i)er < Latin, as above

Related formsaid·er, nounaid·ful, adjectiveaid·less, adjectiveun·aid·ed, adjectiveun·aid·ed·ly, adverbun·aid·ing, adjective

Can be confusedaid aide (see usage note at the current entry)aides aids AIDS

Synonyms for aid

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR aid ON THESAURUS.COM

1. See help. 2. abet, back, foster, advance. 4. succor; relief; subsidy, grant.

Antonyms for aid

2. hinder, frustrate.

Usage note

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.

AID

[eyd]

noun U.S. Government.

the division of the United States International Development Cooperation Agency that coordinates the various foreign aid programs with U.S. foreign policy: established in 1961.

Origin of AID

A(gency for) I(nternational) D(evelopment)

AID

American Institute of Decorators.

American Institute of Interior Designers.

Also A.I.D. British. artificial insemination donor.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for aid

gift, service, assistance, benefit, subsidy, compensation, relief, cooperation, care, treatment, subsidize, abet, assist, encourage, alleviate, promote, alleviation, backing, encouragement, sustenance

Examples from the Web for aid

Contemporary Examples of aid

After all, smaller developing nations like Cameroon often depend on trade with and aid from the West.
The Straight Hero of Cameroon’s Gays
Jay Michaelson
December 10, 2014
Followers had traveled many miles to mourn the loss, and aid in the ritual washing, dressing, and honoring of the body.
Jail Threats for Sierra Leone Ebola Victims’ Families
Abby Haglage
December 10, 2014
But that comes too late for the family of an American aid worker killed by ISIS.
Exclusive: Obama Orders Hostage Policy Review
Shane Harris
November 17, 2014
The woman was taken in August 2013, along with a group of other aid workers who have reportedly been released.
A 26-Year-Old Woman Is ISIS’s Last American Hostage
Shane Harris
November 17, 2014
I remember the days of the Bosnian war (1992—1995), when Saudi Arabia sent convoys of aid to those besieged in Sarajevo.
Saudi Activist Manal Al-Sharif on Why She Removed the Veil
Manal Al Sharif, Advancing Human Rights
October 30, 2014

Historical Examples of aid

The poor dog heard the tumult, and leapt to your aid, sir, and we made after him.
The Armourer's Prentices
Charlotte M. Yonge
This operation is performed by a female, with the aid of a stamp.
The Story of the Invention of Steel Pens
Henry Bore
This operation is performed by the aid of a punch and die fitted into a screw-press.
The Story of the Invention of Steel Pens
Henry Bore
This process is performed by girls, with the aid of what is called a “bob” or “glazer.”
The Story of the Invention of Steel Pens
Henry Bore
And not a hand lifted to aid him while he went to work with the bandaging.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand

British Dictionary definitions for aid

aid

verb

to give support to (someone to do something); help or assist

(tr) to assist financially

noun

assistance; help; support

a person, device, etc, that helps or assistsa teaching aid

Also: artificial aid mountaineering any of various devices such as piton or nut when used as a direct help in the ascent

(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

in aid of British informal in support of; for the purpose of

Derived Formsaider, noun

Word Origin for aid

C15: via Old French aidier from Latin adjūtāre to help, from juvāre to help

Aid

-aid

n combining form

denoting a charitable organization or function that raises money for a causeBand Aid; Ferryaid

AID

abbreviation for

acute infectious disease

artificial insemination (by) donor: former name for Donor Insemination (DI)

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

Word Origin and History for aid

n.

early 15c., "wartime tax," also "help, support, assistance," from Old French aide, earlier aiudha "aid, help, assistance" (9c.), from Late Latin adjuta, from fem. past participle of Latin adiuvare (past participle adiutus) "to give help to," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + iuvare "to help" (see adjutant). Meaning "thing by which assistance is given" is recorded from c.1600. Meaning "material help given by one country to another" is from 1940.

v.

c.1400, "to assist, help," from Old French aidier "help, assistance," from Latin adiutare, frequentative of adiuvare (past participle adiutus) "give help to" (see adjutant). Related: Aided; aiding.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

aid in Medicine

AID

abbr.

artificial insemination donor

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.