helping hand

American

noun

aid; assistance.

to give the destitute a helping hand.

helping hand British

noun

assistance

many people lent a helping hand in making arrangements for the party

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

helping hand Idioms

see under lend a hand.

Etymology

Origin of helping hand

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

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:

helping hand

Aschenbrenner got a helping hand from Wall Street.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

And horses have also played a helping hand in teammate Ella Lloyd's success.

From BBC ● May 21, 2026

Parkkonen, who appears on stage as enigmatic and brooding while lamenting his unanswered love next to a flaming confessional, hoped the song will serve as "a helping hand".

From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026

Tokyo used its financial muscle to offer a helping hand to Asian neighbors, especially in Southeast Asia, making available roughly $10 billion in emergency loans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026

“Of course! We women must give each other a helping hand when it comes to business.”

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023