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:
Firefighters from across Belgium and from Germany have been deployed to assist, supported by next-generation fire engines.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
Dumb luck and a last-minute assist from his less charismatic, bumbling pseudo-sibling finally get him into the spotlight.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Police were keen to hear from people with information or video footage that could assist inquiries and had asked the public not to speculate on the fire's cause, she said.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Since the fire, Lineage has also donated $3.3 million to local nonprofits to assist with the response, company officials said in an Aug. 5 earnings call.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
“You may call a representative of the U.S. embassy to assist you,” he was told.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Former Newcastle captain Guimaraes looked comfortable at the base of Arsenal's midfield in Cardiff, while Tzolis shone with two assists.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
The forward scored 21 goals in 49 appearances in all competitions, providing three assists, and helped Barcelona win the La Liga title.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
The striker produced eight goals and four assists from 24 starts last season, and will look to stay ahead of Yoane Wissa for minutes coming into this campaign.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
He can earn through clean sheets, defensive contributions, assists and goals, while his attacking positioning makes him much more than a conventional full-back.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
I scored eight points, made two assists, had one block, and got three rebounds.
From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan
A Russian tanker suffered serious damage to its hull while sailing along the Arctic route despite being assisted by an icebreaker, its insurer, AlfaStrakhovanie, said Thursday, adding that it paid out roughly $650,000.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
"We are extremely grateful for the heroic, swift actions of our partner agencies and Good Samaritan vessel who assisted in rescuing survivors from the water," said Capt Doreen McCarthy of the Coast Guard.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
Working under the bridge's blue lights, dozens of Taiwanese army combat engineers assisted by cranes and trucks set up layers of concrete and steel barriers, barbed wire and Hesco walls along the nearly one-kilometre-long bridge.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
Calmer winds and cooler temperatures assisted fire crews in their battle against the Spokane blazes Monday, but temperature are anticipated to climb back into the 90s by Wednesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
“Good morning! This is Stephanie. Bergner. You assisted me at Will Thompson’s party?”
From "Here to Stay" by Sara Farizan
Video footage showed deputies assisting wildlife officials as they carried the tranquilized animal to a brown cage to transport it out of the area.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
He turned down assisting a professor with data analysis for a book, for instance, because it would have required substantial changes to his class schedule that would sidetrack his early graduation.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
In other words, to the extent bombing had an effect on the war, it was by assisting the ground war—not by shaping the course of the war from the sky on its own.
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026
The scrupulously staged and rehearsed repertory at the Joyce, with Elisa Clark assisting as rehearsal director, holds bright promise for future retrospective efforts mining the Mark Morris Dance Group’s rich repertory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
It was more likely that she was assisting a doctor performing open-heart surgery than that some creep had snatched her.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
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.
