good Samaritan

or good sa·mar·i·tan

[ goodsuh-mar-i-tn ]

noun

one who is compassionate and helpful to a person in distress.

Origin of good Samaritan

First recorded in 1840–50; from the parable of the good Samaritan in Luke 10:30–37.

Words Nearby good Samaritan

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use good Samaritan in a sentence

Thanks Rovell for pointing that out, all part of being a good Samaritan, right?
Porn Stars Are People Too, Dammit: Lisa Ann’s Notre Dame Date and the Trolling of David Gregory | Aurora Snow | October 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
In one of my homicides, I had one wonderful witness, a legit good Samaritan with 20-20 vision and photographic memory.
The Myth of the Central Park Five | Edward Conlon | October 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Hence, the need for more “good Samaritan” laws that protect people who call for help when someone is overdosing.
Legal, Regulated Heroin Could Have Saved Philip Seymour Hoffman | Valerie Vande Panne | February 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
She flagged down the Irvine bus and spoke to an unidentified good Samaritan, who brought her to her office and called the police.
The Princess & the Peon: Saudi Royal’s Slave Labor Charges | Eliza Shapiro, Christine Pelisek | July 12, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
An anonymous good Samaritan offered to pay for the funerals of all the victims, she said.
What’s Next for the Aurora Theater? | Christine Pelisek, Eliza Shapiro | July 26, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST

He was a good Samaritan and unafraid, who is affectionately remembered by a grateful foe.
Historic Fredericksburg | John T. Goolrick
I came upon your little daughter not long since playing the part of the good Samaritan to Raulsburys poor old horse.
Three Little Women | Gabrielle E. Jackson
The words and the expressions on the countenances of the others caused the truth to flash upon the good Samaritan.
The Phantom of the River | Edward S. Ellis
We can thus understand the point of the local saying, "It is time for a good Samaritan to come."
The Cornwall Coast | Arthur L. Salmon
Revolutionary socialism is the good Samaritan of the despoiled and wounded laborer.
Communism and Christianism | William Montgomery Brown

British Dictionary definitions for Good Samaritan

Good Samaritan

noun

New Testament a figure in one of Christ's parables (Luke 10:30–37) who is an example of compassion towards those in distress
a kindly person who helps another in difficulty or distress

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

Cultural definitions for Good Samaritan

Good Samaritan

[ (suh-mar-uh-tuhn) ]

In one of the parables of Jesus, the only one of several passersby to come to the aid of a Jew (see also Jews) who had been robbed, beaten, and left to die on the roadside. The kindness of the Samaritan was particularly admirable because Jews and Samaritans (i.e., people of Samaria) were generally enemies. Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan to answer a man who had asked him, “Who is my neighbor?” He forced his questioner to admit that the Samaritan was the true neighbor of the man who had been robbed.

Notes for Good Samaritan

Figuratively, “Good Samaritans” are persons who go out of their way to perform acts of kindness to others, especially strangers.

Other Idioms and Phrases with good Samaritan

good Samaritan

A compassionate person who unselfishly helps others, as in In this neighborhood you can't count on a good Samaritan if you get in trouble. This expression alludes to Jesus's parable about a Samaritan who rescues and cares for a stranger who had been robbed and badly hurt and had been ignored by a priest and a Levite (Luke 10:30–35). The Samaritans were considered a heretical group by other Jews, so by using a Samaritan for the parable, Jesus chose a person whom his listeners would find least likely to be worthy of concern. [c. 1600]

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