Synonyms

right-hand man

American

noun

an indispensable or invaluable assistant; right hand.

right-hand man Idioms

Also, right-hand woman. A trusted helper, as in Give it to Jill, she's my right-hand man. Based on the idea that in most people the right hand is the stronger of the two, this idiom today usually disregards gender, as in the example. However, in the the 17th and 18th centuries it also meant a soldier in a post of command on the right side of a cavalry unit, and then always denoted a man. [c. 1800]

Etymology

Origin of right-hand man

First recorded in 1655–65

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.

"We became quite silent when we found the first bone," he said, adding that there were several pointers indicating that the skeleton belonged to the Sun King's right-hand man.

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

KYIV, Ukraine—Ukrainian anticorruption police dropped the teaser for the next episode of its top drama at 9 a.m. on Friday: They were conducting searches at locations linked to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s right-hand man.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025

RSF commander Daglo, whose fighters were originally contracted by Khartoum to fight its wars on Sudan's periphery, became Burhan's right-hand man after Sudan's 2018-2019 uprising.

From Barron's • Nov. 26, 2025

Munger, who died in 2023, was Buffett’s longtime right-hand man.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 10, 2025

The other two possibilities are his cousin Ali, and his right-hand man, Abu Bakr.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

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