Dictionary entry details
• HELP (noun)
Meaning:
The activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Synonyms:
assist; assistance; help; aid
Context examples:
he gave me an assist with the housework / could not walk without assistance / rescue party went to their aid / offered his help in unloading
Hypernyms ("help" is a kind of...):
activity (any specific behavior)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "help"):
self-help (the act of helping or improving yourself without relying on anyone else)
support (aiding the cause or policy or interests of)
boost; encouragement (the act of giving hope or support to someone)
accommodation (the act of providing something (lodging or seat or food) to meet a need)
service (an act of help or assistance)
lift (the act of giving temporary assistance)
ministration; relief; succor; succour (assistance in time of difficulty)
financial aid (assistance given in the form of money)
thanks (with the help of or owing to)
recourse; refuge; resort (act of turning to for assistance)
hand; helping hand (physical assistance)
facilitation (act of assisting or making easier the progress or improvement of something)
Meaning:
A resource
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Synonyms:
aid; assistance; help
Context examples:
visual aids in teaching / economic assistance to depressed areas
Hypernyms ("help" is a kind of...):
resource (a source of aid or support that may be drawn upon when needed)
Meaning:
A means of serving
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Synonyms:
avail; help; service
Context examples:
of no avail / there's no help for it
Hypernyms ("help" is a kind of...):
helpfulness (the property of providing useful assistance)
Meaning:
A person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Synonyms:
assistant; helper; supporter; help
Context examples:
my invaluable assistant / they hired additional help to finish the work
Hypernyms ("help" is a kind of...):
worker (a person who works at a specific occupation)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "help"):
powder monkey (someone who carries explosives (as from the magazine to the guns on board a warship))
paraprofessional (a trained worker who is not a member of a profession but who assists a professional)
model; poser (a person who poses for a photographer or painter or sculptor)
fashion model; manakin; manikin; mannequin; mannikin; model (a woman who wears clothes to display fashions)
underboss (an assistant or second-in-command to a chief (especially in a crime syndicate))
prompter; theater prompter (someone who assists a performer by providing the next words of a forgotten speech)
chief assistant; man Friday; right-hand man (the most helpful assistant)
secretarial assistant; secretary (an assistant who handles correspondence and clerical work for a boss or an organization)
sidesman ((Church of England) an assistant to the churchwarden; collects offerings of money in the church)
foot soldier; subordinate; subsidiary; underling (an assistant subject to the authority or control of another)
water boy; waterer (an assistant who supplies drinking water)
whipper-in (huntsman's assistant in managing the hounds)
labor coach; monitrice (assistant (often the father) who provides support for a woman in labor by encouraging her to use techniques learned in childbirth-preparation classes)
cat's-paw; instrument; pawn (a person used by another to gain an end)
enforcer; hatchet man (one whose job it is to execute unpleasant tasks for a superior)
coadjutor (an assistant to a bishop)
accomplice; confederate (a person who joins with another in carrying out some plan (especially an unethical or illegal plan))
aide; auxiliary (someone who acts as assistant)
attendant; attender; tender (someone who waits on or tends to or attends to the needs of another)
bat boy ((baseball) a boy who takes care of bats and other baseball equipment)
dental assistant (an assistant to a dentist)
deputy; lieutenant (an assistant with power to act when his superior is absent)
actor's assistant; dresser (a wardrobe assistant for an actor)
event planner (someone who plans social events as a profession (usually for government or corporate officials))
facilitator (someone who makes progress easier)
flower girl (a young girl who carries flowers in a (wedding) procession)
girl Friday (a female assistant who has a range of duties)
• HELP (verb)
Meaning:
Give help or assistance; be of service
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Synonyms:
help; assist; aid
Context examples:
Everyone helped out during the earthquake / Can you help me carry this table? / She never helps around the house
Hypernyms (to "help" is one way to...):
back up; support (give moral or psychological support, aid, or courage to)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "help"):
care; give care (provide care for)
avail (be of use to, be useful to)
expedite; hasten (speed up the progress of; facilitate)
succor; succour (help in a difficult situation)
subserve (be helpful or useful)
help out (be of help, as in a particular situation of need)
benefact (help as a benefactor)
assist; attend; attend to; serve; wait on (work for or be a servant to)
alleviate; ease; facilitate (make easier)
bootstrap (help oneself, often through improvised means)
Sentence frames:
Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE
Sentence example:
They help him to write the letter
Meaning:
Be of use
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Synonyms:
facilitate; help
Context example:
This will help to prevent accidents
Hypernyms (to "help" is one way to...):
serve (contribute or conduce to)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE
It ----s that CLAUSE
Something ----s INFINITIVE
Sentence example:
Sam cannot help Sue
Meaning:
Improve the condition of
Classified under:
Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care
Synonyms:
aid; help
Context example:
These pills will help the patient
Hypernyms (to "help" is one way to...):
ameliorate; amend; better; improve; meliorate (to make better)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "help"):
benefit; do good (be beneficial for)
bring around; cure; heal (provide a cure for, make healthy again)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Meaning:
Abstain from doing; always used with a negative
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Synonyms:
help oneself; help
Context examples:
I can't help myself--I have to smoke / She could not help watching the sad spectacle
Hypernyms (to "help" is one way to...):
forbear; refrain (resist doing something)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s VERB-ing
Meaning:
Contribute to the furtherance of
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Context example:
This money will help the development of literacy in developing countries
Hypernyms (to "help" is one way to...):
advance; boost; encourage; further; promote (contribute to the progress or growth of)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Meaning:
Improve; change for the better
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Context example:
New slipcovers will help the old living room furniture
Hypernyms (to "help" is one way to...):
ameliorate; amend; better; improve; meliorate (to make better)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s something
Meaning:
Help to some food; help with food or drink
Classified under:
Verbs of eating and drinking
Synonyms:
serve; help
Context example:
I served him three times, and after that he helped himself
Hypernyms (to "help" is one way to...):
cater; ply; provide; supply (provide what is desired or needed, especially support, food or sustenance)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody
Sentence example:
Sam cannot help Sue
Meaning:
Take or use
Classified under:
Verbs of eating and drinking
Synonyms:
avail; help
Context example:
She helped herself to some of the office supplies
Hypernyms (to "help" is one way to...):
exploit; work (use or manipulate to one's advantage)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Sentence example:
They help themselves
