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Synonyms

assistant

American  
[uh-sis-tuhnt] / əˈsɪs tənt /

noun

  1. a person who assists or gives aid and support; helper.

  2. 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.

    Synonyms:
    adjutant, aide
  3. something that aids and supplements another.

  4. 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

  1. assisting; helpful.

  2. serving in an immediately subordinate position; of secondary rank.

    an assistant coach.

assistant British  
/ əˈsɪstənt /

noun

    1. a person who assists, esp in a subordinate position

    2. ( as modifier )

      assistant manager

  1. See shop assistant

"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

adjective

  1. archaic helpful or useful as an aid

"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

Other Word Forms

  • nonassistant noun
  • unassistant adjective

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”; assist

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.

"The memory wall and the miniaturization wall form a deadly combination," said Robert M. Radway, assistant professor of electrical and systems engineering at the University of Pennsylvania and a co-author of the study.

From Science Daily

The sender and recipient are redacted, but the bottom of the email says assistant US attorney, Southern District of New York - with the name redacted.

From BBC

I decided to pull back and include the lights and my assistant Jonathan’s hands to give it that working set feel.

From Los Angeles Times

Teaching assistants have been making sure pupils experience the magic of Christmas only to struggle to meet the costs of the festive period for their own families, a union has said.

From BBC

As assistant attorney general, Delrahim authorized a lawsuit seeking to block the deal, saying it would have cemented Visa’s monopoly in online debit transactions.

From The Wall Street Journal