helpful
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
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.
Also helpful: the Bank of Japan’ decision to raise interest rates by 25 basis points this week to 1% and the simultaneous decision to halt its government bond purchases starting in April 2027.
From Barron's • Jun. 19, 2026
She also said the figures on average wait times published so far "have not been particularly helpful" so there will be a change to routinely published statistics "broken down by driving test centre as well".
From BBC • Jun. 17, 2026
Onstage, he added, “I can’t think of a TV show that’s been as helpful or as healing.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2026
But the Newton, Mass., resident said knowing he qualifies for the rule of 55 has been psychologically helpful in managing his finances.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 14, 2026
He intended on popping in to say goodbye to C.C., who had been very helpful, but instead, on a whim, he had one last rummage.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
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.
