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
- 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.
Wang is also an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard Chan School and an associate member at the Broad Institute.
From Science Daily
The polyamorous community is bigger than many realize, said Amy C. Moors, an assistant professor of psychology at Chapman University who has researched the demographics of polyamorous people and discrimination against such relationships.
From Los Angeles Times
He said he’s not building Skynet — the artificial intelligence that brings about the end of days in the “Terminator” films — but something similar to Jarvis, Iron Man’s affable computer assistant.
From Los Angeles Times
The other participant in the Wednesday rally is Associated Administrators of Los Angeles, which represents about 3,000 principals, assistant principals and central and regional office middle managers.
From Los Angeles Times
The assistant superintendent could eat his dinner off the floor.
From Literature
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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.