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help

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To make something easier or better for someone.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

hehlp
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈhɛlp

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. transitive

    To provide assistance to (someone or something).

  2. Give help or assistance; be of service

    “Everyone helped out during the earthquake.”

  3. Contribute to the furtherance of

    “This money will help the development of literacy in developing countries.”

  4. transitive

    To contribute in some way to.

  5. transitive

    To assist (a person) in getting something, especially food or drink at table; used with to.

  6. transitive

    To avoid; to prevent; to refrain from; to restrain (oneself). Usually used in nonassertive contexts with can.

noun

  1. usually uncountable

    One or more people employed to help in the maintenance of a house or the operation of a farm or enterprise.

  2. uncountable

    Action given to provide assistance; aid.

  3. Something or someone which provides assistance with a task.

  4. countable

    A study aid.

  5. uncountable

    Correction of deficits, as by psychological counseling or medication or social support or remedial training.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To provide assistance to (someone or something).

Used this way, help 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
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

How It’s Used

The word’s distinct uses, one example each.

  • Contributeverb

    “This money will help the development of literacy in developing countries.”

  • Giveverb

    “Everyone helped out during the earthquake.”

More ways to use help

  • “These pills will help the patient.”verb
  • “This money will help the development of literacy in developing countries.”verb
  • “Everyone helped out during the earthquake.”verb

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

  • assist

    Give help or assistance.

  • avail

    To provide; to make available.

  • serve

    To provide a service (or, by extension, a product, especially food or drink).

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • helpingnounInflected form

    An individual quantity of food or drink taken as part of a meal.

  • helpernounInflected form

    A person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • helpfuladjectiveDerived adjective

    Providing assistance or serving a useful function.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • help outverbCompound term

    Be of help, as in a particular situation of need.

  • helper cellnounCompound term

    T cell with CD4 receptor that recognizes antigens on the surface of a virus-infected cell and secretes lymphokines that stimulate B cells and killer T cells.

  • helper t cellnounCompound term

    T cell with CD4 receptor that recognizes antigens on the surface of a virus-infected cell and secretes lymphokines that stimulate B cells and killer T cells.

  • help desknounCompound term

    A service that provides information and assistance to the users of a computer network.

  • helping handnounCompound term

    Physical assistance.

  • help oneselfverbCompound term

    Abstain from doing.

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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.