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.

aide-de-camp.

foreign aid.

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.

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

Related Words for aided

subsidize, abet, assist, encourage, alleviate, promote, mitigate, befriend, lighten, relieve, serve, favor, sustain

Examples from the Web for aided

Contemporary Examples of aided

By one account, it aided U.S. troops in capturing or killing at least ten of those senior leaders from the battlefield.
How the NSA Became a Killing Machine
Shane Harris
November 9, 2014
Super PACs have aided both candidates, but Grimes has less dark-money support than McConnell.
Mystery Man Buys Kentucky for the GOP
Center for Public Integrity
October 29, 2014
Aided by care, heroic health care workers, and—in some cases—experimental drugs, all three survived.
Ebola Panic Is Worse Than the Disease
Abby Haglage
October 9, 2014
He believed the more you aided Israel militarily, the more flexible they would be diplomatically.
Some of Israel’s Top Defenders Say It’s Time to End U.S. Aid
Eli Lake
July 18, 2014
CSI not only aided a not-guilty verdict, but netted Dr. Phil an admirer.
It’s Time to Turn Off TV Doctors
April Siese
June 23, 2014

Historical Examples of aided

We are aided by all who desire self-government and a voice in deciding their own affairs.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
Aided by my Flicie, I dressed in haste and tried to descend, but it was impossible.
My Double Life
Sarah Bernhardt
Mr. Stone aided in the establishment of several manufactories at this point.
Cleveland Past and Present
Maurice Joblin
They followed the gas, and were aided in their advance by artillery fire.
The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of VIII)
Various
The triumph, aided perhaps by good wine, had made a new man of Fritz.
The Prisoner of Zenda
Anthony Hope

British Dictionary definitions for aided

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)

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

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 aided

aid

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.

aid

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.

aided in Medicine

AID

abbr.

artificial insemination donor