help

American  

[help] / hɛlp /

verb (used with object)

1. to give or provide what is necessary to accomplish a task or satisfy a need; contribute strength or means to; render assistance to; cooperate effectively with; aid; assist.

   He planned to help me with my work. Let me help you with those packages.

   Synonyms:

   abet, back, uphold, second, support, befriend, encourage

2. to save; rescue; succor.

   Help me, I'm falling!

3. to make easier or less difficult; contribute to; facilitate.

   The exercise of restraint is certain to help the achievement of peace.

   Synonyms:

   foster, promote, further

   Antonyms:

   hinder

4. to be useful or profitable to.

   Her quick mind helped her career.

5. to refrain from; avoid (usually preceded by can orcannot ).

   He can't help doing it.

6. to relieve or break the uniformity of.

   Small patches of bright color can help an otherwise dull interior.

   Synonyms:

   ameliorate

7. to relieve (someone) in need, sickness, pain, or distress.

   Synonyms:

   heal, cure, alleviate

   Antonyms:

   afflict

8. to remedy, stop, or prevent.

   Nothing will help my headache.

9. to serve food to at table (usually followed byto ).

   Help her to salad.

10. to serve or wait on (a customer), as in a store.

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verb (used without object)

1. to give aid; be of service or advantage.

   Every little bit helps.

   Antonyms:

   hinder

noun

1. the act of helping; aid or assistance; relief or succor.

   Synonyms:

   backing, support

2. a person or thing that helps.

   She certainly is a help in an emergency.

   Antonyms:

   hindrance

3. a hired helper; employee.

4. a body of such helpers.

5. a domestic servant or a farm laborer.

6. means of remedying, stopping, or preventing.

   The thing is done, and there is no help for it now.

7. Older Use. helping.

interjection

1. (used as an exclamation to call for assistance or to attract attention.)

verb phrase

1. help out to assist in an effort; be of aid to.

   Her relatives helped out when she became ill.

idioms

1. help oneself to,

   1. to serve oneself; take a portion of.

      Help yourself to the cake.

   2. to take or use without asking permission; appropriate.

      They helped themselves to the farmer's apples. Help yourself to any of the books we're giving away.

2. so help me, (used as a mild form of the oath “so help me God”) I am speaking the truth; on my honor.

   That's exactly what happened, so help me.

3. cannot / can't help but, to be unable to refrain from or avoid; be obliged to.

   Still, you can't help but admire her.

help British  

/ hɛlp /

verb

1. to assist or aid (someone to do something), esp by sharing the work, cost, or burden of something

   he helped his friend to escape

   she helped him climb out of the boat

2. to alleviate the burden of (someone else) by giving assistance

3. (tr) to assist (a person) to go in a specified direction

   help the old lady up from the chair

4. to promote or contribute to

   to help the relief operations

5. to cause improvement in (a situation, person, etc)

   crying won't help

6. (tr; preceded by can, could, etc; usually used with a negative)

   1. to avoid or refrain from

      we can't help wondering who he is

   2. (usually foll by it) to prevent or be responsible for

      I can't help it if it rains

7. to alleviate (an illness, etc)

8. (tr) to serve (a customer)

   can I help you, madam?

9. 1. to serve (someone with food, etc) (usually in the phrase help oneself )

      may I help you to some more vegetables?

      help yourself to peas

   2. to provide (oneself with) without permission

      he's been helping himself to money out of the petty cash

10. to be unable to do anything else except

    I cannot help but laugh

11. to assist a person in the removal of (clothes)

12. to assist a person in the putting on of (clothes)

13. 1. on my honour

    2. no matter what

       so help me, I'll get revenge

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noun

1. the act of helping, or being helped, or a person or thing that helps

   she's a great help

2. a helping

3. 1. a person hired for a job; employee, esp a farm worker or domestic servant

   2. (functioning as singular) several employees collectively

4. a means of remedy

   there's no help for it

interjection

1. used to ask for assistance

help More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing help

• can't help but
• every little bit helps
• not if one can help it
• so help me

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Usage

Cannot/can't help but has been condemned by some as the ungrammatical version of cannot/can’t help followed by the present participle: You can’t help but admire her. You can’t help admiring her. However, the idiom Cannot/can't help but is so common in all types of speech and writing that it must be characterized as standard.

Related Words

Help, aid, assist, succor agree in the idea of furnishing another with something needed, especially when the need comes at a particular time. Help implies furnishing anything that furthers one's efforts or relieves one's wants or necessities. Aid and assist, somewhat more formal, imply especially a furthering or seconding of another's efforts. Aid implies a more active helping; assist implies less need and less help. To succor, still more formal and literary, is to give timely help and relief in difficulty or distress: Succor him in his hour of need.

Other Word Forms

• helpable adjective
• helper noun
• underhelp noun
• unhelpable adjective
• unhelped adjective
• well-helped adjective

Etymology

Origin of help

First recorded before 900; Middle English helpen, Old English helpan; cognate with German helfen

Explanation

The verb help means to give aid or assistance to. You can help your friend organize a car wash at school by making posters and putting them up all over town. Help can also mean to serve food or drink––as in, "Help yourself!" But don't serve yourself too much or there won't be enough for a second helping. One last meaning for help is the people hired to provide domestic services in a home. A nanny, a housekeeper, a gardener are often referred to somewhat derisively as "the help," because their job is helping the family.

Example Sentences

Researchers hope this investment will help speed up the development of new strategies to better understand, monitor, and treat some of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer.

From Science Daily • Apr. 12, 2026

For a frustrated shareholder, it certainly doesn’t help that the company disclosed Friday that Founder and CEO Ethan Brown got a six-fold increase in pay in 2025.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 12, 2026

She could help a Storm team trying to find itself.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

The approach offers a clearer view of how antibodies interact with viruses and could help guide future vaccine design.

From Science Daily • Apr. 12, 2026

That’s why I couldn’t hide my annoyed surprise when he told us that he needed our help here again today.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Related Words

• back
• benefit
• bolster
• boost
• cooperate
• encourage
• further
• maintain
• promote
• push
• save
• serve
• stimulate
• support