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.
A 2024 Frontiers in Immunology review emphasized that senescence can play a helpful role during normal wound repair, but persistent senescent cells may contribute to chronic wounds, fibrosis, and abnormal healing.
From Science Daily • May 20, 2026
It is helpful to look by source of income separately.
From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026
You’ve talked about how helpful medication was for you.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026
Brooke Halliday and Maddy Green withstood Bell's spell in helpful bowling conditions to add 57 for the fourth wicket, as the former finished unbeaten on 42 with support from Izzy Gaze's 22 not out.
From BBC • May 16, 2026
“Okay,” I say, still trying to process my family being helpful and nice and everything.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
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.
