guide
verb (used with object)
to assist (a person) to travel through, or reach a destination in, an unfamiliar area, as by accompanying or giving directions to the person.
guide
American
[gahyd]
/ gaɪd /
verb (used with object)
-
guides,
present (3rd person singular)
-
guided,
past participle, past
-
guiding
present participle
-
to assist (a person) to travel through, or reach a destination in, an unfamiliar area, as by accompanying or giving directions to the person.
He guided us through the forest.
- Antonyms:
- follow
-
to accompany (a sightseer) to show points of interest and to explain their meaning or significance.
-
to force (a person, object, or animal) to move in a certain path.
-
to supply (a person) with advice or counsel, as in practical or spiritual affairs.
-
to supervise (someone's actions or affairs) in an advisory capacity.
noun
-
guides
plural
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a person who guides, especially one hired to guide travelers, tourists, hunters, etc.
-
a mark, tab, or the like, to catch the eye and thus provide quick reference.
- Synonyms:
- clue, key, indication, signal, sign
-
a guidebook.
-
a book, pamphlet, etc., giving information, instructions, or advice; handbook.
an investment guide.
-
a guidepost.
-
a device that regulates or directs progressive motion or action.
a sewing-machine guide.
-
a spirit believed to direct the utterances of a medium.
-
Military. a member of a group marching in formation who sets the pattern of movement or alignment for the rest.
guide
1
British
/ ɡaɪd /
verb
-
to lead the way for (a person)
-
to control the movement or course of (an animal, vehicle, etc) by physical action; steer
-
to supervise or instruct (a person)
-
(tr) to direct the affairs of (a person, company, nation, etc)
he guided the country through the war
-
(tr) to advise or influence (a person) in his standards or opinions
let truth guide you always
noun
-
-
a person, animal, or thing that guides
-
( as modifier )
a guide dog
-
-
a person, usually paid, who conducts tour expeditions, etc
-
a model or criterion, as in moral standards or accuracy
-
See guidebook
-
a book that instructs or explains the fundamentals of a subject or skill
a guide to better living
-
any device that directs the motion of a tool or machine part
-
-
a mark, sign, etc, that points the way
-
( in combination )
guidepost
-
-
spiritualism a spirit believed to influence a medium so as to direct what he utters and convey messages through him
-
-
navy a ship in a formation used as a reference for manoeuvres, esp with relation to maintaining the correct formation and disposition
-
military a soldier stationed to one side of a column or line to regulate alignment, show the way, etc
-
Guide
2
British
/ ɡaɪd /
noun
Usage
What are other ways to say guide?
To guide someone is to assist them in traveling through or in reaching a destination by accompanying them or giving them directions. How does guide compare to synonyms conduct, direct, and lead? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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guidernoun
-
preguideverb (used with object)
-
reguideverb (used with object)
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guidableadjective
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guidelessadjective
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guidingadjective
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nonguidableadjective
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unguidableadjective
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guidinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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guidesimple
-
guidessimple
-
have guidedperfect
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has guidedperfect
-
am guidingprogressive
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are guidingprogressive
-
is guidingprogressive
-
have been guidingperfect progressive
-
has been guidingperfect progressive
Past
-
guidedsimple
-
had guidedperfect
-
was guidingprogressive
-
were guidingprogressive
-
had been guidingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of guide
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English giden (verb), gide (noun), from Old French gui(d)er (verb), gui(d)e (noun), from Germanic; akin to wit 2 ( def. )
Explanation
A guide is someone who shows you the way. You'd be lucky to have a kind older sibling to act as your guide through middle school, giving you advice and helping you figure out the school and social scenes. A guide often leads tourists through a city, taking them to important sites, or assists a group of mountain climbers. Another kind of guide is a book of helpful instructions about what to see in a particular country, how to get along with your teenager, or the best way to grow orchids. When you guide people, you help them find their way, whether it's through the New York subway system or through the steps of building a campfire.
Vocabulary lists containing guide
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Motherlode: A Mother's Day Lexicon
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Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 5
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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.
See Examples For:
If history is any guide, most of them are likely to lose.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
Its exhibits "moved to storage," according to a guide at the new museum.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
The researchers hope that interfering with bacterial communication could make it possible to guide plaque toward an earlier, healthier state rather than attempting to eliminate the entire microbial population.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026
He’s been tracking political contests nationwide for more than 25 years and edits and publishes Inside Elections — formerly the Rothenberg Political Report — another nonpartisan field guide to campaigns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
These boats will be paddled down the river to tow and guide the barge.
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
One can see the TV Guide thumbnails: Woody and Matthew forget to buy Valentine’s Day gifts for their wives.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
They also now have the model of their 20-week scan picture, through the scheme by the charity Guide Dogs.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
On the Sony Pictures lot in Los Angeles, the writers’ offices surround a library stocked with reference books and cultural archives, including every issue of TV Guide dating back to the 1950s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Robert Ross is the founder of TikStocks and author of “A Beginner’s Guide to High-Risk, High-Reward Investing.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
I switch to A Traveler’s Guide to Puerto Rico to learn more about where we’re staying.
From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya
Slate’s three decades have seen countless beginner’s guides, staff recommendations, tabulations of game-night commercials, and “Completist” roundups of everything from Pepperidge Farm cookies to Super Bowls.
From Slate ● Oct. 7, 2026
These trained guides work with patients and healthcare teams to connect people with medical care, services, and other resources.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
"In psychiatry it's been a problem, and optogenetics has started to address that because we can say, 'these cells are too active' or 'not active enough,' and that guides us in a very powerful way."
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
The number of children who were toilet-trained before starting school this year has increased significantly in a city where parents were given potty training guides with their first school offers.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
The Fashion Minister guides her through the complex vertical network of stores.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
It offers only guided tours to small groups by prior arrangement.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
“Any decisions we make will be guided by what is in the best interests of both current and future students.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
It also means erasing the construct of Hal’s consciousness that has guided John since his mentor died.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
James, who is the state's chief legal officer, appeared alongside Hochul at Friday's news conference, pledging to "lead a process guided by the facts and the law".
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
The stallion guided his herd this way and that, closing the space between us.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
Bronson’s aggrieved architect in the classic “Death Wish” films didn’t have a guiding philosophy.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
He has already won silverware in his time with the Hatters, guiding them to the EFL Trophy, beating Stockport County 3-1 at Wembley in April in front of a crowd of nearly 50,000.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
He called that a guiding principle, particularly for clients who lack counsel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
The U.S. has also shifted its positioning from constraint of yen weakness to guiding the yen stronger, Citi says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
As soon as a wagon’s front wheels hit the sloped wooden tracks, the man guiding its pole leaps out of the way.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
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.
