Synonyms

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

Even without a big helping hand from some one-off factors like privately held AI company markups and tariff refunds, that’s unprecedented outside of a postrecession rebound.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

With the kit man struggling to remove equipment from the team bus, McGinn was the only player to offer a helping hand as his team-mates headed straight for the training pitch.

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 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

What’s more, lower interest rates and new tax cuts were expected to lend a helping hand.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 20, 2026

It was like I wanted to give up—because in society nobody wants to give us a helping hand.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

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