Help Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Definition of help · 1 : the act or an instance of doing or supplying something to make it easier for another to complete a task, deal with a problem, etc. : aid ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut help verb SaveWord \ˈhelp ;Southernoftenˈhepalsoˈheəp\ helped;helping;helps Definitionofhelp (Entry1of2) transitiveverb 1 :togiveassistanceorsupportto(someone):toprovide(someone)withsomethingthatisusefulornecessaryinachievinganend HowcanIhelpyou?Hehelpsthechildrenwiththeirhomework.Canyouhelpmegetthisjaropen?Shehelpedhim(walk)up/downthestairs. 2a :tomakemorepleasantorbearable:improve,relieve brightcurtainswillhelptheroomtookanaspirintohelpherheadache b archaic :rescue,save Helpusfromfamine/Andplagueandstrife!—AlfredTennyson 3a :tobeofuseto:benefit willdoanythingtohelptheircause b :tofurthertheadvancementof:promote couldhelpnegotiations 4a :tochangeforthebetter b :torefrainfrom:avoid wecouldn'thelplaughing c :tokeepfromoccurring:prevent theycouldn'thelptheaccident d :torestrain(oneself)fromdoingsomething knewtheyshouldn'tgobutcouldn'thelpthemselves 5 :toservewithfoodordrinkespeciallyatameal toldthegueststohelpthemselves 6 :totakesomethingfor(oneself)withoutpermission helpedhimselftothecarkeys intransitiveverb 1 :togiveassistanceorsupport —oftenusedwithouthelpsoutwiththehousework 2 :tobeofuseorbenefit everylittlebithelps sohelpme :uponmyword:believeitornot — seealsohelpinghand,helpingverb help noun pluralhelps Definitionofhelp (Entry2of2) 1 :theactoraninstanceofdoingorsupplyingsomethingtomakeiteasierforanothertocompleteatask,dealwithaproblem,etc.:aid,assistance Icouldusesomehelpwiththedishes.Weheardcriesforhelpcomingfromthehouse.Wecouldn'thavedonethiswithoutyourhelp.I'mgladIcouldbeofhelp.[=I'mgladIcouldhelp.] —seealsoself-help 2 :asourceofaid Sheisahelptoourefforts.You'vebeenagreathelptous.Theinstructionswerenohelp(atall).He'sbeenmoreofahindrancethanahelp.Turner…andMackinley…arebighelpswiththeiryoungersiblings.—JuliaLipscombe —seealsohelpdesk,helpmenu,helpscreen 3 :remedy,relief Thesituationisbeyondhelp.(somewhatold-fashioned)Therewasnohelpforit.Iwasobligedtotellhimthetruth.—WilkieCollins 4 pluralusuallyhelp a :employee helpwanted —usuallyusedinpluralbutsingularorpluralinconstructionMostoftherestaurant'ssummerhelpis/arecollegestudents. b oftenoffensive :adomesticworker —usuallyusedinpluralbutsingularorpluralinconstruction Synonyms&Antonyms ChoosetheRightSynonym MoreExampleSentences PhrasesContaininghelp LearnMoreAbouthelp Synonyms&Antonymsforhelp Synonyms:Verb abet,aid,assist,back,backstop,prop(up),supportSynonyms:Noun abetment,aid,assist,assistance,backing,boost,hand,helpinghand,legup,lift,support Antonyms:Verb hinderAntonyms:Noun hindrance VisittheThesaurusforMore  ChoosetheRightSynonymforhelp Verb improve,better,help,amelioratemeantomakemoreacceptableortobringnearerastandard.improveandbetteraregeneralandinterchangeableandapplytowhatcanbemadebetterwhetheritisgoodorbad. measurestofurtherimprovethequalityofmedicalcare immigrantshopingtobettertheirlot helpimpliesabetteringthatstillleavesroomforimprovement. acoatofpaintwouldhelpthathouse ameliorateimpliesmakingmoretolerableoracceptableconditionsthatarehardtoendure. triedtoamelioratethelivesofpeopleinthetenements ExamplesofhelpinaSentence Verb Don'tblameme:Iwasonlytryingtohelp! Help!Somebodycallthepolice! Shetookanaspirintohelpherheadache. Humoroftenhelpsatensesituation. It'snotmuchmoney,buteverylittlebithelps. Noun Hethankedusforourhelp. Icouldusesomehelpwiththedishes. Wecouldhearshoutsforhelpcomingfromthehouse. He'sbeenmoreofahindrancethanahelp. SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb:Verb Thefoodsetsthetoneforalongride,andasufficientstockofgoodiescanhelpeliminatehangryoutbursts,desperationgas-stationjunkfoodandmaybeeventhosetripstothedrive-throughwindow. — BeckyKrystal,WashingtonPost,30July2022 Lauren’sbackgroundinlifestylemediaandservicejournalismhasgivenherthetoolstofindfresh,engagingwaystohelpreadersfeelinspiredandempoweredtoimprovetheirhomesandlivesinwayslargeandsmall. — LaurenPhillips,BetterHomes&Gardens,30July2022 GeorgeClemmer,71,wasridinghisbicycleinthebikelaneofMassachusettsAvenuenearBostonSymphonyHallonJuly13whenhewasstruck,accordingtoaGoFundMefund-raiserorganizedtohelphisfamilywithexpenses. — JohnHilliard,BostonGlobe.com,30July2022 PresidentBidenapprovedadisasterdeclarationforKentuckyFriday,offeringfederalfundstohelpwiththerecoveryefforts. — AliciaA.Caldwell,WSJ,30July2022 Butdespitetheobstaclescollegesanduniversitiesfaceinprovidingcomprehensivementalhealthresources,thereareactionsschoolscantakenowtooffermoreimmediatereliefandhelpmitigatetheongoingcrisisoncampusesnationwide. — MeganLeonhardt,Fortune,30July2022 TheNationalGuardhasmobilizedtohelppeopleinmultiplecountiesacrosstheeasternportionofthecommonwealth. — CalebStultz,USATODAY,29July2022 Theclasstouredthehistoricalsocietytogaininsightandperhapssomeinformationtohelpwiththeirprojects. — LindaG.Kramer,cleveland,29July2022 Inanaverageday,McKay—whoalsocoachesoutfielders—spendsthemajorityofhistimepainstakinglybreakingdownvideotohelpwithbaserunning. — TheoMackie,TheArizonaRepublic,29July2022 RecentExamplesontheWeb:Noun IsJackgoingtocontinueseekinghelpforhisPTSD,hisguiltoverhisbrother,andhisdrinking? — MaureenLeeLenker,EW.com,29July2022 BuyerswhoexperiencedunexplainedsymptomsaftereatingtheDolesaladmixproductsintherecallshouldconsiderseekingmedicalhelp. — ChrisSmith,BGR,28July2022 Theauditfoundalackofclearmetricsandpoorcommunicationcreatedconfusionforwaterdistrictsseekinghelpandsloweddowntheawardprocess. — FromUsaTodayNetworkAndWireReports,USATODAY,28July2022 RebeccaBrubaker,theexecutivedirectoroftheArkansasCrisisCenter,saidthechangewillbegoodforthoseseekinghelpwithsuicidalthoughts. — RemingtonMiller,ArkansasOnline,16July2022 SriLankaisseekinghelpfromtheInternationalMonetaryFundandothercreditors,butitsfinancesaresopoorthatevenobtainingabailouthasprovendifficult,Wickremesingherecentlysaid. — KrishanFrancis,BostonGlobe.com,16July2022 SriLankaisseekinghelpfromtheInternationalMonetaryFundandothercreditors,butitsfinancesaresopoorthatevenobtainingabailouthasprovendifficult,Wickremesingherecentlysaid. — AnchorageDailyNews,15July2022 Butapparentlyhundreds,ifnotthousands,ofRussiansandnon-ethnicRussiansalikeareseekinghelptogetoutofcontractsorbesparedfromgoingtoUkraine. — AmyKellogg,FoxNews,14July2022 Inotherinstances,thecomplaintallegesthesamenurseinappropriatelytouchedwomenwho’dcometohimseekingmedicalhelp. — CatherineE.Shoichet,CNN,14July2022 SeeMore Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'help.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. PhrasesContaininghelp beyondhelp helpoff/on helpmatters homehelp helpscreen helpout helponeself nohelpforit helpwanted self-help helpmenu helpdesk cannothelponeself God/Lord/heavenhelp(someone) cannothelpbut cannothelp ofhelp sohelpme SeeMore beyondhelp helpoff/on helpmatters homehelp helpscreen helpout helponeself nohelpforit helpwanted self-help helpmenu helpdesk cannothelponeself God/Lord/heavenhelp(someone) cannothelpbut cannothelp ofhelp sohelpme SeeMore FirstKnownUseofhelp Verb beforethe12thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedattransitivesense1Noun beforethe12thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1 HistoryandEtymologyforhelp VerbandNoun MiddleEnglish,fromOldEnglishhelpan;akintoOldHighGermanhelfantohelp,andperhapstoLithuanianšelpti LearnMoreAbouthelp Sharehelp PosttheDefinitionofhelptoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofhelponTwitter TimeTravelerforhelp Thefirstknownuseofhelpwas beforethe12thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury FromtheEditorsatMerriam-Webster 'Muskrat,''Helpmate,'and6MoreFolk... 'Muskrat,''Helpmate,'and6MoreFolkEtymologies Whenlogicmeetslanguage DictionaryEntriesNearhelp Helotium help helpable SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforhelp LastUpdated 1Aug2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Help.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/help.Accessed9Aug.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforhelp help verb \ˈhelp \ helped;helping KidsDefinitionofhelp (Entry1of2) 1 :toprovidewithwhatisusefulinachievinganend 2 :togiverelieffrompainordisease Didthemedicinehelp? 3 :preventsense1 Icouldn'thelplaughing. 4 :serveentry1sense1 Helpyourselftomore. OtherWordsfromhelp helper \ ˈhel-​pər \ noun help noun KidsDefinitionofhelp (Entry2of2) 1 :anactorinstanceofhelping:aid Ineedyourhelp. 2 :thefactofbeingusefulorhelpful She'snotmuchhelp. 3 :theabilitytobehelped Wearebeyondhelp. 4 :apersonorathingthathelps You'vebeenarealhelp. 5 :abodyofhiredhelpers MorefromMerriam-Websteronhelp Nglish:TranslationofhelpforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofhelpforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY riposte SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary OddHabitsandQuirks Whichofthefollowingbestdescribesaneasilyirritatedperson? gregarious tetchy superficial flashy Testyourvisualvocabularywithour10-questionchallenge! TAKETHEQUIZ Adailychallengeforcrosswordfanatics. TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! 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