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.
-
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
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(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
-
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:
The priority now is delivering aid, recovering loved ones, tracing missing relatives and reunifying separated children, the UN's humanitarian agency says.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
GS: Writing is such a somatic exercise, proved to release emotions and aid cognitive processing through the act of holding and moving a pen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
As a result, the IMF suspended a $1.8-billion aid programme it had agreed upon in 2023, pending further information and commitments from new President Bassirou Diomaye Faye's government.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
Manchester United snapped up Baleba from Brighton after a 12-month chase to aid their midfield revamp, while Tottenham's recruitment of Fernandes and Savio is in the same category.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
PIH staff has begun to focus on methods of structuring aid and loans so that in the future the sick and indigent will be the primary beneficiaries.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
"Deploying Artificial Intelligence in Services to AID Vulnerable Consumers" is published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 18, 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
By contrast, the AID equates inequality with heterogeneity in educational attainment within a population.
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
The account was relayed by the organization Whistleblower Aid, which said it represents the anonymous whistleblower.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
"The apparently sloppy and rushed manner in which the federal ballot mail portal and supporting IT systems are being built poses significant risk," said the official, who is represented by the nonprofit Whistleblower Aid.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
Women's Aid says there are many misconceptions about domestic abuse, external, including that it is only perpetrated by "bad people" rather than being a reflection of sexism in wider society.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
To find out what you’re eligible for, fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
What I wouldn’t have given, just then, to find a Smart Aid store.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
The technology's adaptability to different kinds of problems sets it apart from previous waves of computerised aids.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
"This lab was set up to help us engineer our communication aids," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 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
On the other days of the week, the teachers wore microphones that worked with her hearing aids somehow.
From "Hello, Universe" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Chimpanzees are highly capable tree trunk climbers, aided by ankles that can flex much farther than human ankles.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026
The birth-control campaign was designed to control the territory's population, which had ballooned since the 1950s, aided by modernisation and better healthcare.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
But they’ve tripled their sports staff this year, adding performance and mental health therapists and additional basketball data people — who apparently aided in the construction of an old, uncompetitive roster.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
Hochschild Mining HOC 7.99%increase; green up pointing triangle shares soared after the miner reported higher earnings over the first half year, aided by increased commodity prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
An old woman, aided by two young girls.
From "Wishtree" by Katherine Applegate
More than 2,000 people are aiding rescue operations, including soldiers, Xinhua added.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
This supports a higher resting energy expenditure, aiding long-term weight maintenance.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 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
Even though he became a justice of the peace after the war, the tight-lipped former member of the Confederate Secret Service was ever after wary of persecution for aiding the conspirators.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
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.
