abet
Americanverb (used with object)
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abets,
present (3rd person singular)
-
abetted,
past participle, past
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abetting
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
abetsimple
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abetssimple
-
have abettedperfect
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has abettedperfect
-
am abettingprogressive
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are abettingprogressive
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is abettingprogressive
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have been abettingperfect progressive
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has been abettingperfect progressive
Past
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abettedsimple
-
had abettedperfect
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was abettingprogressive
-
were abettingprogressive
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had been abettingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of abet
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English abette (source of Old French abeter, unless the latter, of Germanic origin, is the source of the Middle English), unattested Old English ābǣtan “to hound on,” equivalent to ā- a- 3 + bǣtan “to hunt, chase with dogs, pasture”; see origin at bait; akin to bite
Explanation
To abet is to help someone do something, usually something wrong. If you were the lookout while your older sister swiped cookies from the cookie jar, you abetted her mischief. The verb abet can be used to generally mean encouragement, but people usually expect to see it in relation to some crime. "The singer was abetted by a pianist in her rendition of Silver Bells," for example, is a harmless construction. However, people more often expect abet in a sentence like this: "She was charged with aiding and abetting the burglar because she drove the getaway car." Abet comes from an Old French word abeter meaning "to bait."
Vocabulary lists containing abet
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Antigone
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Henry David Thoreau "Civil Disobedience" (1849)
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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.
See Examples For:
"And I'm not going to aid and abet them in their efforts to do that."
From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2025
Mexico’s complaint alleged that the named firearms manufacturers and the named distributor aid and abet rogue dealers in the U.S. who illegally sell firearms to straw purchasers.
From Slate ● Jun. 6, 2025
In June, the governor signed legislation to give local agencies clearer authority to fine landlords, suppliers and others who abet illegal operations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2022
While AirTags and other tracking devices have been used to thwart theft, privacy groups have also sounded alarms about their use to abet stalking or tracking people without their knowledge.
From New York Times ● Aug. 19, 2022
Oh yes, there were plenty to aid and abet him; even he could not have held a horse race without someone to race against.
From "Absalom, Absalom!" by William Faulkner
Ms. Shorr emphasizes a social asymmetry that abets Martin’s lies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026
Conflict avoidance, and the way digital media abets it, is a recurring theme here, but “Zoomers” is no satirical work of social horror.
From New York Times ● Jan. 26, 2024
It not only cuts methane emissions but returns nutrients to the soil, allows the ground to hold precious moisture and abets the “sinking” of Earth-warming carbon dioxide into the soil.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2023
"Silence abets state hostage taking," it said, adding that the government should use "the strongest possible language" to call out cases where detentions are being used for leverage.
From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2023
‘Ma abets him. And Ma says it’s not suitable for grown women like Madge and Dorcas to be carrying buckets through the streets. So I’m the one.’
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
Thomas is still untangling the frightening mirage that was the past four months of his life, but he says his most dangerous delusions were abetted by the most sycophantic version of ChatGPT: GPT-4.
From Slate ● Feb. 2, 2026
The real crash happened that year, after the Smoot-Hawley tariffs and a series of bank failures, abetted by bad Federal Reserve policy, sent the economy and the market into a tailspin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
The jury found that Geragos aided and abetted Avenatti, knowingly assisted in wrongful conduct and ultimately breached his duties as a lawyer, although it found that Franklin wasn’t harmed by Geragos.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2025
Liz Murrill said the investigation was ongoing, and that authorities would "uncover all the facts eventually and anyone who aided and abetted will be prosecuted to the full extent the law allows".
From BBC ● May 20, 2025
Compton was seized with a vision of Lawrence supplanting his own authority by the sheer exercise of will, abetted by geography.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Authorities identified her as 47-year-old Punyavee Rungrueang, who has been arrested on charges of abetting a state official in illegal activities.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Ballmer and other defendants are accused of fraud and aiding and abetting fraud, with the plaintiffs seeking at least $50 million in damages.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Plaintiffs took this as an invitation to shake down U.S. companies for abetting alleged human-rights violations in foreign countries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
But at the same time he’s abetting the union campaign by parroting their arguments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
The man who could not be discourteous to a ground- squirrel had sat in the courthouse abetting the cause of grubby-minded little men.
From "Go Set a Watchman: A Novel" by Harper Lee
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.
