assistance
noun
Simple meaning
A person or thing that is a resource that helps make something easier or possible to do.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhsistuhnsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əˈsɪstəns
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Aid; help; the act or result of assisting.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Aid; help; the act or result of assisting.
Used this way, assistance is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The bureau in the Department of Justice that assists local criminal justice systems to reduce or prevent crime and violence and drug abuse.
Gift of money or other material help to support a person or cause.
Gift of money or other material help to support a person or cause.
Assistance between and within military commands.
Benefits paid to bring incomes up to minimum levels established by law.
Governmental provision of economic assistance to persons in need.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Give help or assistance.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Related Learning
Guides that use this word in context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “assistance” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.