helpful
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- helpfully adverb
- helpfulness noun
- overhelpful adjective
- overhelpfully adverb
- overhelpfulness noun
- quasi-helpful adjective
- quasi-helpfully adverb
- unhelpful adjective
- unhelpfully adverb
Etymology
Origin of helpful
Explanation
If you are inclined to assist others in any situation, you are a helpful person. Your actions can also be called helpful, like your helpful habit of doing the dishes every night. If you want to be helpful, you find ways to make things easier for others, like holding the door for them. Things can also be helpful — maps, cell phones, dictionaries, and holders for wet umbrellas. Taking good notes and setting your alarm to go off early are helpful tips for days when you have big tests. A discussion is helpful if it teaches you something new or gives you ideas for doing something better.
Vocabulary lists containing helpful
Beowulf vocabulary
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 3
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Words to Describe a Teacher
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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.
In high-stakes negotiations, it is helpful to use language that our adversaries understand, even if that sometimes makes supporters uncomfortable.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026
This could be especially helpful when individual signals are weak, unclear, or easily misinterpreted.
From Science Daily • Apr. 15, 2026
District officials have previously described such cost-cutting attempts as potentially meaningful, but only marginally helpful given that employee salaries and benefits make up the vast majority of the district’s nearly $19-billion budget.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026
She called the customer-support line, but they weren’t helpful.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026
Great-Uncle Jim, I’m sorry to tell you this, but the really helpful lady was Ms. Griegson.
From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones
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.
