assistant
Americannoun
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a person who assists or gives aid and support; helper.
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a person who is subordinate to another in rank, function, etc.; one holding a secondary rank in an office or post.
He was assistant to the office manager.
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something that aids and supplements another.
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a faculty member of a college or university who ranks below an instructor and whose responsibilities usually include grading papers, supervising laboratories, and assisting in teaching.
adjective
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assisting; helpful.
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serving in an immediately subordinate position; of secondary rank.
an assistant coach.
noun
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a person who assists, esp in a subordinate position
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( as modifier )
assistant manager
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See shop assistant
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of assistant
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English assistent, from Latin assistent-, stem of assistēns “standing by,” present participle of assistere “to stand by, help”; see assist
Explanation
An assistant is someone that is there to help. If you work 80 hours a week, you might want to think about hiring a personal assistant to pick up your dry cleaning. The word assistant typically refers to someone who offers assistance. However, in certain professional situations, assistant can mean on a level below, as in "the Assistant District Attorney reports to the District Attorney." Not surprisingly, an assistant provides assistance. However, unlike a slave or an indentured servant, an assistant is paid for his work.
Vocabulary lists containing assistant
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ant, -ent
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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.
Meredith Slopen, an assistant professor at the Stony Brook School of Social Welfare, also pointed out that caregiving situations are sometimes harder to define than parental leave following the birth of a child.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 7, 2026
Brian Somers, an assistant professor of Buddhist studies at Seoul's Dongguk University, said religions have always adapted as younger followers replace older ones.
From Barron's • Jul. 7, 2026
Noel Grigsby played for Garrett, went on to San José State and has been an assistant coach since 2014.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 6, 2026
Practically overnight, Earle “was ordered to become assistant governor-general of Western Samoa in the Pacific. He himself told me this, when I was in the States attending Valley Forge Military Academy.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 6, 2026
He’s just this year bumped up to principal from assistant principal and he’s very enthusiastic about the new gig.
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
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.
