Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- transitive v. To give assistance to; aid: I helped her find the book. He helped me into my coat.
- transitive v. To contribute to the furtherance of; promote.
- transitive v. To give relief to: help the needy.
- transitive v. To ease; relieve: medication to help your cold.
- transitive v. To change for the better; improve: A fresh coat of paint will help a scarred old table.
- transitive v. To refrain from; avoid or resist. Used with can or cannot: couldn't help laughing.
- transitive v. To wait on, as in a store or restaurant.
- intransitive v. To be of service; give assistance.
- n. The act or an instance of helping.
- n. Aid or assistance.
- n. Relief; remedy.
- n. One that helps: You've been a great help. A food processor is a help to the serious cook.
- n. A person employed to help, especially a farm worker or domestic servant.
- n. Such employees considered as a group. Often used with the.
- idiom help (oneself) to To serve or provide oneself with: Help yourself to the cookies.
- idiom help (oneself) to Informal To take (something) without asking permission: The thief helped himself to our family silver.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. Action given to provide assistance; aid.
- n. A person or persons who provide assistance with some task.
- n. One or more people employed to help in the maintenance of a house or the operation of a farm or enterprise.
- n. Correction of deficits, as by psychological counseling or medication or social support or remedial training.
- v. To provide assistance to (someone or something).
- v. To contribute in some way to.
- v. To provide assistance.
- v. To avoid; to prevent; to refrain from; to restrain (oneself). Usually used in nonassertive contexts with can.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
- n. Strength or means furnished toward promoting an object, or deliverance from difficulty or distress; aid; ^; also, the person or thing furnishing the aid.
- n. Remedy; relief.
- n. A helper; one hired to help another; also, thew hole force of hired helpers in any business.
- n. Specifically, a domestic servant, man or woman.
- intransitive v. To lend aid or assistance; to contribute strength or means; to avail or be of use; to assist.
- transitive v. To furnish with strength or means for the successful performance of any action or the attainment of any object; to aid; to assist; ; -- the following infinitive is commonly used without to
- transitive v. To furnish with the means of deliverance from trouble
- transitive v. To furnish with relief, as in pain or disease; to be of avail against; -- sometimes with of before a word designating the pain or disease, and sometimes having such a word for the direct object.
- transitive v. To change for the better; to remedy.
- transitive v. To prevent; to hinder; as, the evil approaches, and who can help it?
- transitive v. To forbear; to avoid.
- transitive v. To wait upon, as the guests at table, by carving and passing food.
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To furnish aid to; contribute strength or means to; assist in doing, accomplishing, or attaining anything; assist; aid: as, to help a man in his work; to help one out of difficulties. See to help to, below.
- To bring succor or relief to; relieve; rescue.
- To mitigate, as pain or disease; heal, relieve, or comfort, as a person in pain or distress.
- To mend; repair.
- To change for the better; remedy: as, he cannot help his deformity.
- To prevent; avoid; forbear; keep or refrain from: with can or cannot.
- To increase; aggravate.
- To aid in going, removing, getting, etc.: with ellipsis of to go, to get, etc.: as, help me in (that is, help me to go in); help me off my horse.
- To give out in portions.
- To lend aid; be of use; avail.
- To serve or distribute food, as at table.
- n. Assistance; aid given toward doing, accomplishing, or attaining anything, as labor, escape from danger or difficulty, discharge of obligations, etc.
- n. Remedy; relief; succor; means of deliverance: as, failure is inevitable, there is no help for it.
- n. A source of aid, relief, or succor; a helper.
- n. Hence An assistant; a hired laborer or servant; especially, a domestic or household servant; collectively, servants or assistants; the supply of workers.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- v. improve the condition of
- v. abstain from doing; always used with a negative
- v. contribute to the furtherance of
- n. a person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
- v. be of use
- v. improve; change for the better
- n. a resource
- n. a means of serving
- n. the activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
- v. give help or assistance; be of service
- v. take or use
- v. help to some food; help with food or drink
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Examples
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It sounds to me like you also need help - not just meds, but someone to *help*.
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Then help me, princess, cried Theseus; help me to come to the Minotaur and look upon it, and help me, too, to get back the sword that I brought with me to Crete.
Part III. The Heroes of the Quest. Chapter III. Theseus and the Minotaur. IV
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Dont urge me; help me, help me, because I love you.
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I have taken a new name in part, and with my bride's help, I hope to _help_ you more than I formerly _hindered_ you, to keep the rules of the Try
Jessie Carlton The Story of a Girl who Fought with Little Impulse, the Wizard, and Conquered Him
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` Massa, shall I help you? 'and you say, ` Yes, you must _help_ me.'
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To help him who _will not _help himself; or, indiscriminately to relieve those that want, is totally to mistake the end; for want is often met with: but to supply those who _cannot_ supply themselves, becomes real charity.
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II. vii.125 (271,1) [And take upon command what help we have] It seems necessary to read, _then take upon_ demand _what help_, &c. that is,
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These auctions will benefit a child cancer patient and help with their bills - Happy Bidding and thank you for your help~
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In order therefore that he may fulfil the precept, and not covet, he is constrained to despair of himself and to seek elsewhere and through another the help which he cannot find in himself; as it is said, O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in Me is thine help (Hosea xiii.
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Only one teacher ever had the sense to call in help from the emotional support staff for a meltdown rather than report him as a disciplinary problem, and of the administrators, one has been fabulous, one okay, and one well-meaning but doesn't think outside the box.
728183748 commented on the word help
How do you call a person who refuses being helped?
November 3, 2011
bilby commented on the word help
See help.
September 1, 2011
RichardB43 commented on the word help
Wodnik needs a Help page.
How do you add/suggest a new definition?
September 1, 2011
seanmacdhai commented on the word help
i need help... can you please delete my account?
September 16, 2009
zaggan commented on the word help
LOL love the beatles citation.
May 28, 2009
frindley commented on the word help
See video for how to specify a particular point in a linked YouTube video.
November 1, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word help
Oh, you're right! (deleted)
September 18, 2008
gangerh commented on the word help
That's no help!
September 18, 2008
reesetee commented on the word help
Funny, I have more trouble pressing the Caps Lock key when I mean to press the Tab key--but only on an Apple. Overly developed left pinky, I suppose. ;-)
April 28, 2008
vanishedone commented on the word help
Obvious citation:
- The Beatles
April 27, 2008
frindley commented on the word help
Oh yes, that happens to me too!! Annoying as all get-out, as you say.
I did once discover – perhaps in Word, or may it was at system level – a way to map Help to a different key. If I can find it again I will post the solution here.
April 27, 2008
uselessness commented on the word help
The key on an Apple keyboard that I always hit accidentally when I'm trying to press the delete key. Annoying as all get-out. Though it has its moments of practicality from time to time, I never was one to appreciate usefulness.
March 5, 2007