Adjacent Words

Assist definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

ASSIST', v.t. [L. assisto, of ad and sisto, to stand up; English, to stand by.]
To help; to aid; to succor; to give support to in some undertaking or effort, or in time of distress.
ASSIST', v.i. To lend aid.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose; "he gave me an assist with the housework"; "could not walk without assistance"; "rescue party went to their aid"; "offered his help in unloading" [syn: aid, assist, assistance, help]
2: (sports) the act of enabling another player to make a good play v
1: give help or assistance; be of service; "Everyone helped out during the earthquake"; "Can you help me carry this table?"; "She never helps around the house" [syn: help, assist, aid]
2: act as an assistant in a subordinate or supportive function
3: work for or be a servant to; "May I serve you?"; "She attends the old lady in the wheelchair"; "Can you wait on our table, please?"; "Is a salesperson assisting you?"; "The minister served the King for many years" [syn: serve, attend to, wait on, attend, assist]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb Etymology: Middle French or Latin; Middle French assister to help, stand by, from Latin assistere, from ad- + sistere to cause to stand; akin to Latin stare to stand — more at stand Date: 15th century transitive verb to give usually supplementary support or aid to <assisted the boy with his lessons> intransitive verb 1. to give support or aid <assisted at the stove> <another surgeon assisted on the operation> 2. to be present as a spectator <the ideal figures assisting at Italian holy scenes — Mary McCarthy> II. noun Date: 1597 1. an act of assistance ; aid 2. the action (as a throw or pass) of a player who enables a teammate to make a putout or score a goal; also official credit given for such an action 3. a mechanical or electromechanical device that provides assistance

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 tr. (often foll. by in + verbal noun) help (a person, process, etc.) (assisted them in running the playgroup). 2 intr. (often foll. by in, at) assist or be present (assisted in the ceremony). --n. US 1 help; an act of helping. 2 Baseball etc. a player's action of helping to put out an opponent, score a goal, etc. Derivatives: assistance n. assister n. Etymology: ME f. F assister f. L assistere take one's stand by (as AD-, sistere take one's stand)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Assist As*sist", v. i. 1. To lend aid; to help. With God not parted from him, as was feared, But favoring and assisting to the end. --Milton. 2. To be present as a spectator; as, to assist at a public meeting. [A Gallicism] --Gibbon. Prescott.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Assist As*sist", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assisted; p. pr. & vb. n. Assisting.] [L. assistere; ad + sistere to cause to stand, to stand, from stare to stand: cf. F. assister. See Stand.] To give support to in some undertaking or effort, or in time of distress; to help; to aid; to succor. Assist me, knight. I am undone! --Shak. Syn: To help; aid; second; back; support; relieve; succor; befriend; sustain; favor. See Help.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(assists, assisting, assisted) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If you assist someone, you help them to do a job or task by doing part of the work for them. The family decided to assist me with my chores... Dr Amid was assisted by a young Asian nurse. = help VERB: V n with n, be V-ed 2. If you assist someone, you give them information, advice, or money. The public is urgently requested to assist police in tracing this man... Foreign Office officials assisted with transport and finance problems... The Authority will provide a welfare worker to assist you. = help VERB: V n in -ing, V with n, V n, also V n to-inf 3. If something assists in doing a task, it makes the task easier to do. ...a chemical that assists in the manufacture of proteins... Here are some good sources of information to assist you in making the best selection... VERB: V in/with n/-ing, V n in/with n/-ing

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Help, aid, support, befriend, patronize, serve, speed, second, further, promote, abet, back, sustain, subsidize, co-operate with, take part with, give support to, minister to. 2. Succor, relieve, aid, give alms to. 3. Alternate with, relieve, spell.

Moby Thesaurus

abet, accompany, act for, advance, aid, assistance, attend, avail, bail out, be instrumental, bear a hand, befriend, benefit, boost, comfort, concur, cooperate, do for, do good, doctor, ease, escort, facilitate, favor, finance, forward, fund, further, give a boost, give a hand, give a lift, give help, go between, hand, help, help out, helping hand, leg, leg up, lend a hand, lend one aid, lift, mediate, minister to, pay the bills, pension, pension off, proffer aid, promote, protect, rally, reclaim, redeem, relief, relieve, remedy, render assistance, rescue, restore, resuscitate, revive, save, second, serve, set up, stead, subserve, subsidize, succor, support, take in tow, work for