assist

[uh-sist]

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verb (used with object)

to give support or aid to; help: Please assist him in moving the furniture.

to be associated with as an assistant or helper.

verb (used without object)

to give aid or help.

to be present, as at a meeting or ceremony.

noun

Sports.

Baseball.a play that helps to put out a batter or base runner.
Basketball, Ice Hockey.a play that helps a teammate in gaining a goal.
the official credit scored for such plays.

a helpful act: She finished her homework without an assist from her father.

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.

Nearby words

Origin of assist

1505–15; < Latin assistere to stand by, help, equivalent to as- as- + sistere to (cause to) stand (si- reduplicative prefix + -ste- (variant of sta- stand) + -re infinitive suffix)

SYNONYMS FOR assist

1. sustain, abet, befriend; back, promote. See help.

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ANTONYMS FOR assist

1. hinder, frustrate.

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Related forms

as·sist·er; Chiefly Law, as·sis·tor, nounas·sist·ive, adjectivenon·as·sist·er, nouno·ver·as·sist, verb

re·as·sist, verb (used with object)un·as·sist·ed, adjectiveun·as·sist·ing, adjectivewell-as·sist·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for assisted

The implication is that she might even have assisted her husband inflicting his superficial wounds.
Did Joran Van Der Sloot Fake His Prison Shanking?|Andrea Zarate, Barbie Latza Nadeau|November 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In a newspaper interview Sunday, he claimed the government had assisted the militants with arms and funds.
Whose Side Is Turkey On?|Jamie Dettmer|October 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The acts ranged from the mundane to the unexpected: Assisted a tourist with directions because he looked lost.
It’s Official: Religion Doesn’t Make You More Moral|Elizabeth Picciuto|September 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In turn, Holtsman assisted Spitz in obtaining a vehicle and supplies.
On the Trail of Nazi Counterfeiters|Dr. Kevin C. Ruffner|September 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Khoroshilov assisted Zan for such shows as Kaelen, The Academy or Art, Mara Hoffman, J.Crew, and Greg Lauren.
Does Fashion Week Exploit Teen Models?|Jennifer Sky|September 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Had Mike not been so assisted he would have been evicted, and there would have been no appeal from it.
Nasby in Exile|David R. Locke
He then treated the second bird in the same manner, and assisted his lady-love to consume it, as well as the remainder of the oil.
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
Mrs Gerrarde had a convenient trunk bought at Rochester for the purpose, and assisted herself in laying them up safely.
Memoirs of Miss Sidney Biddulph|Frances Sheridan
In agreeable surprise Beauty offered her hand to the handsome prince, and assisted him to rise.
Old-Time Stories|Charles Perrault
He let her slip to the ground, and then assisted her to mount Magpie, and thus they rode slowly back to camp.
Ted Strong in Montana|Edward C. Taylor

British Dictionary definitions for assisted

assist

verb

to give help or support to (a person, cause, etc); aid

to work or act as an assistant or subordinate to (another)

ice hockey to help (a team-mate) to score, as by passing the puck

(intr foll by at) archaic to be present; attend

noun

US and Canadian the act of helping; aid; assistance

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

sport

a pass or other action by a player which enables another player to score a goal
a credit given for such an action

Derived Formsassister, noun

Word Origin for assist

C15: from French assister to be present, from Latin assistere to stand by, from sistere to cause to stand, from stāre to stand

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

Word Origin and History for assisted

assist

early 15c., from Middle French assister "to stand by, help, put, place, assist" (14c.), from Latin assistere "stand by, take a stand near, attend," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + sistere "take a stand, cause to stand," from PIE *siste-, reduplicated form of root *sta- "to stand" (see stet). Related: Assisted; assisting. Medical assisted suicide attested from 1884.

assist

1570s, "an act of assistance," from assist (v.). In the sporting sense attested 1877 in baseball, 1925 in ice hockey.

assist

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

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Origin of assist

Examples from the Web for assisted

assist

verb

noun

Word Origin for assist

assist

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