aide
Americannoun
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aides
plural
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an assistant or helper, especially a paid employee.
Years ago, my mom was a teacher’s aide in a kindergarten classroom.
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During the war she worked as an aide in a field hospital, changing bedpans and cleaning floors.
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an assistant or advisor to a public figure, especially one who works for a person in public office.
He is a journalist and former White House aide.
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The agency just called to say my mom's aide didn't show up this morning.
noun
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an assistant
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social welfare an unqualified assistant to a professional welfare worker
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short for aide-de-camp
Commonly Confused
See aid.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of aide
An Americanism first recorded in 1770–80; from French: literally, “helper”; see origin at aid
Explanation
Remember that aide with an "e" at the end is a noun. It refers to a person who helps or acts as an assistant, such as a nurse's aide or a presidential aide. The noun aide is actually a shortened form of the 17th century French phrase, aide-de-camp, which meant "camp assistant" and was the title given to the secretary of a high-ranking military officer. It was used extensively throughout the Revolutionary War, and the shortened form is considered an Americanism. Today, we apply the word aide to anyone who serves as an advisor or as an assistant.
Vocabulary lists containing aide
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Scrabble: Four-Letter Words with 3 Vowels
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Out of My Mind
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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:
And last night, the Daily Beast published two reverential letters that Harp allegedly wrote to Trump in 2023, when she served as a presidential campaign aide.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
Natalie Harp, a personal aide to the president, has become an object of fascination for both the left and right.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
But just who is this aide to the 80-year-old Trump, who reportedly has not taken a single day of holiday since the Republican returned to power last year?
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
She took in the maximum from Rick Cole, a former aide to City Controller Kenneth Mejia who serves as a council member in Pasadena and has been actively supporting Raman’s campaign.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
“For all I know, our Navy was shooting at whales out there,” he later confided in an aide.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
He calls her “sweetie” and has told other aides that “Harp is the only one who loves him as much as his wife and children” and “will never leave him,” the Times reports.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
When she took office she rebuffed aides who suggested she start tweeting: "People don't say 'pass me the hashtag newspaper, or I'd like a hashtag coffee'." Announcements were to be made formally.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
"Natalie Harp is one of the most loyal and hardest-working aides on President Trump's team," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement to AFP.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Trump is pushing aides to arrange a meeting with Kim as soon as this fall, The Wall Street Journal reported.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Johnson and his aides quickly finalized the language of what became known as the Tonkin Gulf Resolution.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
