can't help

Idioms

Also,. Be unable to do otherwise. For example, I can't help thinking that the keys will turn up eventually, or He couldn't help but believe he would pass the entrance exam, or I cannot but applaud his efforts. The first of these phrases, can't help, is always followed by a present participle whereas the others take an infinitive. [c. 1700]

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.

"But I can't help but think of the fellow artists who aren't here with us."

From BBC • May 29, 2026

Where local health clinics can't help, many people are travelling to the cities, hoping the hospitals there will be able to.

From BBC • May 27, 2026

Financial markets by their nature don’t follow a script, so chart watchers can’t help but get excited when they see a textbook chart pattern appear in a widely followed index.

From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026

He girded himself to “understand better now what I’ve always known: he who drags himself through life, who succumbs under its weight, can’t help anyone, no matter what duties he takes on.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

She can’t help it that she isn’t able to walk alone.

From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023