assist
Americanverb (used with object)
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assists,
present (3rd person singular)
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assisted,
past participle, past
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assisting
present participle
verb (used without object)
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assists,
present (3rd person singular)
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assisted,
past participle, past
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assisting
present participle
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to give aid or help.
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to be present, as at a meeting or ceremony.
noun
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assists
plural
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Sports.
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Baseball. a play that helps to put out a batter or base runner.
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Basketball, Ice Hockey. a play that helps a teammate in gaining a goal.
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the official credit scored for such plays.
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a helpful act.
She finished her homework without an assist from her father.
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Machinery. an electrical, hydraulic, or mechanical means of increasing power, efficiency, or ease of use.
a luxury automobile equipped with assists for brakes, steering, windows, and seat adjustment.
verb
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to give help or support to (a person, cause, etc); aid
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to work or act as an assistant or subordinate to (another)
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ice hockey to help (a team-mate) to score, as by passing the puck
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archaic to be present; attend
noun
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the act of helping; aid; assistance
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baseball the act of a player who throws or deflects a batted ball in such a way that a team is enabled to put out an opponent
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sport
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a pass or other action by a player which enables another player to score a goal
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a credit given for such an action
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Synonym Usage
See help.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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assisternoun
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nonassisternoun
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overassistverb
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reassistverb (used with object)
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assistiveadjective
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unassistedadjective
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unassistingadjective
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well-assistedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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assistsimple
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assistssimple
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have assistedperfect
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has assistedperfect
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am assistingprogressive
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are assistingprogressive
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is assistingprogressive
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have been assistingperfect progressive
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has been assistingperfect progressive
Past
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assistedsimple
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had assistedperfect
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was assistingprogressive
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were assistingprogressive
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had been assistingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of assist
First recorded in 1505–15; from Latin assistere “to stand by, help,” from as- as- ( def. ) + sistere “to cause to stand, stop,” derivative of stāre “to stand” ( see also stand ( def. ))
Explanation
You run up the field, pass the ball to the forward and she scores! It’s your third assist of the game. On and off the soccer field, to assist is to help or contribute. The English word assist came to us in the early 15th century from the French word assister, meaning to "to stand by or help.” The French word is pronounced "ah-sis-tay" and is not to be confused with "a sister." Even if your sister is helpful.
Vocabulary lists containing assist
Defense, Dribble, and Dunk: Basketball Lingo
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Mother's Day Words: What Mothers Do
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Herbert Hoover on "Rugged Individualism" (1928)
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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:
"I'd also ask that those driving in the area at the time with dash-cam footage review this to see if it has captured anything that could assist with our investigation."
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Those fines ought to go into a fund to assist Juan Galicia and others like him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
Those proteins can either assist viral infection or help protect the animal.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026
WSJ | Buy Side: We found 10 of the best wealth-management firms to assist in portfolio management, retirement preparation and estate planning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
“Remember what he is going to assist us in,” said Herbert, “and be calm.”
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
To help kick off the 78th Emmy Awards Monday, Mariska Hargitay tapped a friend who knows something about assists: New York Knicks point guard Jalen Bruson.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
The goals record is good, but the assists are not.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
Clark finished just shy of a double-double with 10 points, nine assists, three rebounds and two steals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
Reese ended the game with nine points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
JB’s got nineteen points, six rebounds, and three assists.
From "The Crossover" by Kwame Alexander
In 2019, he assisted the campaigns of several leftist Peronist candidates in provincial races in Argentina, and later founded his own consultancy, Numen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
Across the US, assisted dying - which some critics prefer to call assisted suicide - is legal in 30 out of 50 states, as well as in Washington DC.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
AIs are already being used to answer decades-long unsolved complex mathematical problems, and have assisted scientists in speeding up scientific discovery and even designing new viruses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
While most jurisdiction forbid medical help to die, assisted dying laws around the world vary.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Even in his ailing state White assisted Grove with the book, as if he were consumed by an unsolved case, until the manuscript was completed.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
The suspects, who were both held on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service, have been released on bail under strict conditions until late October, the Met said.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Also assisting Pat are her eccentric neighbor, Prichard Knowles, and her daughter, Sofia, who contributes tough-love tips on how her mother might improve her own insensitive behavior.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Geologists and other experts are also assisting from abroad.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
A 20-year-old man, Diego Farquharson, of Birchen Grove, Brent, has been charged with assisting an offender and is due to appear before magistrates on Monday.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
William Burns had once investigated Comstock for allegedly assisting an oil company in a scheme to bribe the Osage Tribal Council for a favorable lease, but the charge was never proven.
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
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.
