English Explanatory Dictionary

help

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Action given to provide assistance; aid.
  2. Something or someone which provides assistance with a task.
  3. Documentation provided with computer software that could be accessed using the computer.
  4. A study aid.
  5. One or more people employed to help in the maintenance of a house or the operation of a farm or enterprise.
  6. Correction of deficits, as by psychological counseling or medication or social support or remedial training.
verb
  1. To provide assistance to (someone or something).
  2. To assist (a person) in getting something, especially food or drink at table; used with to.
  3. To contribute in some way to.
  4. To provide assistance.
  5. To avoid; to prevent; to refrain from; to restrain (oneself). Usually used in nonassertive contexts with can.
  6. To do something on the behalf of someone.
  7. To assist or sympathize with (the speaker); used to express displeasure, disappointment or exasperation.
intj
  1. A cry of distress or an urgent request for assistance.
  2. A way to signal uncontrollable laughter; implying the risk of dying of laughter and needing assistance.
noun
  1. Initialism of heat escape lessening position: a crouching position with the knees held close to the chest, used to conserve body heat in cold water.

Pronunciation

hĕlp /hɛlp/ hĕp /hɛp/ en-uk-to help.ogg en-us-help.ogg LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-help.wav

Word forms

help helps helping helped holp holpen no-table-tags glossary helpest helpedst helpeth help!

Etymology

From Middle English help, from Old English help (“help, aid, assistance, relief”), from Proto-Germanic *helpō (“help”), *hilpiz, *hulpiz, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱelb-, *ḱelp- (“to help”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hälpe (“help”), West Frisian help (“help”), Cimbrian hölfe (“help”), Dutch hulp (“help”), German Hilfe (“help, aid, assistance”), Luxembourgish Hëllef (“help”), Mòcheno hilf (“help”), Vilamovian hyłf (“help”), Yiddish הילף (hilf, “help”), Danish hjælp (“help”), Faroese, Icelandic hjálp (“help”), Norwegian Bokmål hjelp (“help”), Norwegian Nynorsk hjelp, hjølp (“help”), Swedish hjälp (“help”).

Synonyms

aid assistance assist come to the aid of help out abet befriend bestead come to someone's aid give someone a hand grip help lend a hand lend a helping hand mend stead succor succour support sustain relieve contribute to

Antonyms

hinder hurt

Related words

serve

Derived words

call for help cry for help help desk helpfile helpful helpless helpline helply helpmate helpmeet helpsheet helpsome help vampire helpworthy helpy home help househelp self-help telehelp temporary help a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down behelp cannot help can't help can't help but heaven help someone helpability helpable help a lame dog over a stile helpee helper helping helping hand helpingly helping profession helping verb help oneself help out may I help you overhelp so help my tater unhelp unhelping

Translations

Khiamniungan Naga: thūathám
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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