help
help — verb
1. to do part of someone's work, or to give them advice, money, or support, so that
to do part of someone's work, or to give them advice, money, or support, so that their task becomes possible or easier to complete.
Walid helped his younger sister with her maths homework after dinner.
help + object + with + noun phrase
The government gave money to help small businesses during the economic crisis.
help + object (no preposition)
Could you help me move this heavy table into the next room?
help + object + bare infinitive
Lan's neighbour helped by taking care of the cat while she was in hospital.
help + by + -ing clause
A local charity helps families who have lost their homes in the fire.
- help with
- help someone to
- help someone do
Grammar Patterns
help + object + infinitive
help + object + with + noun phrase
help + (object) + to-infinitive
Common Mistakes
2. to make a difficult, painful, or uncomfortable condition less bad or easier to b
to make a difficult, painful, or uncomfortable condition less bad or easier to bear.
Taking a warm bath helps the pain in Meera's back.
helps + noun phrase (the thing improved)
Talking to a close friend can really help when you feel sad or worried.
help used intransitively
The new medicine helped Élise's skin condition a great deal.
Does this cream help the itching from mosquito bites?
A good night's sleep usually helps when you have a bad headache.
subject (circumstance/thing) + helps + time clause
- help a situation
- help the pain
- help matters
Grammar Patterns
something + helps
it helps + to-infinitive
something + helps + noun phrase
Usage Note
The subject of this sense is typically a thing or a circumstance (medicine, rest, talking), not a person acting intentionally.
Common Mistakes
3. to be one of the reasons or causes that make something happen, often together wi
to be one of the reasons or causes that make something happen, often together with other factors.
The warm spring weather helped the crops grow faster than usual this year.
help + object + bare infinitive (cause-effect)
Regular exercise helps to keep your heart healthy as you get older.
help + to-infinitive
Minh's experience in digital marketing helped the team win the contract.
The new train line helped reduce traffic jams in the city centre.
Good communication between parents and children helps build trust at home.
- help to
- help in
- help bring about
- contribute to
more formal; emphasises being one factor among several
- facilitate
formal; means to make a process easier or more likely to happen
- promote
suggests actively encouraging or supporting a result
Grammar Patterns
something + helps to + infinitive
something + helps in + -ing
Usage Note
Commonly used with 'to' (helps to explain) or a bare infinitive (helps explain). The subject is a factor or circumstance, not a person choosing to help.
Common Mistakes
4. describes a feeling or action that a person cannot prevent, no matter how hard t
describes a feeling or action that a person cannot prevent, no matter how hard they try.
I couldn't help laughing when Quan told that silly joke.
couldn't help + -ing (involuntary reaction)
Leila can't help checking her phone every few minutes when she is bored.
Even though the film was sad, Nia couldn't help smiling at the very end.
Mauricio couldn't help feeling nervous before the job interview.
couldn't help + feeling/emotion
I know I should not compare myself to others, but I cannot help it.
cannot help it (fixed phrase)
- can't help it
- can't help but
- can't help wondering
- can't stop
similar meaning but less idiomatic; can feel more literal
- can't resist
stronger; implies temptation or desire, not just lack of control
Grammar Patterns
cannot/can't help + -ing
cannot/can't help + it
couldn't help + -ing
Usage Note
This sense ALWAYS appears in the negative form (can't help / couldn't help). The phrase 'can't help it' is a fixed expression meaning the person has no control over the situation. Distinguish from sense 1 — here the person is NOT choosing to act; the action is automatic.
Common Mistakes
5. to take and offer food or a drink to yourself or another person at a table.
to take and offer food or a drink to yourself or another person at a table.
Christopher helped himself to another slice of pizza from the box.
help + oneself + to + food
Please help yourselves to coffee and cake from the table.
polite invitation: help + yourself/yourselves + to
Help yourself to whatever you would like, said Ezra's grandmother with a warm smile.
Let me help you to some more rice — there is plenty left in the pot.
help + someone + to + food (offering service)
- help yourself
- help yourself to
- help someone to
Grammar Patterns
help + yourself + to + food/drink
help + someone + to + food/drink
Usage Note
Very common in polite invitations: 'Help yourself.' The reflexive pronoun (yourself / himself / herself / themselves) is required. This sense is polite and welcoming, unlike sense 6 which has a negative tone.
Common Mistakes
6. to take an item that belongs to someone else, without their agreement.
to take an item that belongs to someone else, without their agreement.
Someone helped themselves to the money from my desk drawer.
help + oneself + to (stealing/taking without right)
The stranger helped himself to a bottle of wine while the host was not looking.
If you help yourself to company supplies, you could get into serious trouble.
Walid noticed that someone had helped themselves to his lunch from the office fridge.
- help yourself to
- steal
more direct and stronger; always implies illegality or wrongdoing
- take without asking
more literal; less serious in tone than 'steal'
- pinch
informal British English; suggests taking something small
- return
to give something back to its owner
- ask permission
to request approval before taking
Grammar Patterns
help + oneself + to + something (without permission)
Usage Note
Same structure as sense 5 (help + reflexive pronoun + to), but the tone is negative and disapproving. Context makes the difference: when the thing taken belongs to someone else and is taken secretly, the meaning shifts from 'serving oneself politely' to 'stealing.'
Common Mistakes
help off with
phrasal verbThis means to assist someone in removing an item of clothing.
Diego helped the child off with his wet coat.
Could you help me off with these heavy boots?
help on with
phrasal verbThis means to assist someone in putting on an item of clothing.
Maya helped her little brother on with his jacket.
Can you help me on with this necklace?
help out
phrasal verbThis means to give assistance, especially in a difficult situation.
Aiden helped out at the soup kitchen last Saturday.
Could you help out with the dishes after dinner?
This means you cannot stop yourself from doing or feeling something.
Mia cannot help laughing when she sees that funny video.
Brian could not help but notice the strange noise outside.
This means to provide assistance or support to someone.
Sara gave a helping hand to her elderly neighbor with groceries.
Can you lend a helping hand at the community garden this weekend?
This is used to express fear that something bad will happen to someone.
Heaven help the student who forgets the homework again.
God help us if the storm hits the coast tonight.
so help me (God)
idiomThis is used to emphasize that you are telling the truth, often in a formal setting.
I swear I saw the accident, so help me God.
So help me, I will finish this project on time.
help — noun
1. the action of doing something for someone that makes their work or problem easie
the action of doing something for someone that makes their work or problem easier.
Thank you for all your help with the school fair last Saturday.
help + with + activity
Do you need any help carrying those heavy bags to the car?
need + help + -ing
The neighbours offered their help after the storm damaged the roof.
With a little help from his friends, Mauricio fixed the broken bicycle.
with + help + from + someone
The injured hiker called for help using his mobile phone.
- need help
- get help
- offer help
- ask for help
- with the help of
- assistance
more formal; common in official or professional contexts
- aid
often refers to money, supplies, or emergency support given by organisations
- support
can be emotional, practical, or financial, often longer-term
- hindrance
something or someone that makes a task more difficult
Grammar Patterns
need + help
give + help
offer + help
with + help
Usage Note
Uncountable noun. Do not say 'a help' when referring to the general act of helping — say 'some help' or just 'help'. This sense is different from noun sense 3, where 'a help' can refer to a person employed to clean.
Common Mistakes
2. a person, thing, tool, or piece of advice that provides useful assistance in a p
a person, thing, tool, or piece of advice that provides useful assistance in a particular situation.
This map is a great help when you are lost in a new city.
be + a + help (countable)
The guidebook was a big help during our trip to Japan.
Lan has been a real help around the office since she started working here.
a + adjective + help (referring to a person)
The online tutorial was a huge help when Noa learned how to bake bread.
A good dictionary is a great help for anyone learning a new language.
- a big help
- a great help
- a real help
- be a help
- assistance
uncountable; does not refer to a specific helpful thing or person
- asset
a useful quality or skill belonging to a person or organisation
- nuisance
a person, thing, or situation that causes trouble or annoyance
Grammar Patterns
be + a + help
be + a + great/big + help
Usage Note
Unlike sense 1 (uncountable), this sense can be used countably as 'a help' or 'a great help' to name a specific useful thing or person. The phrase 'be a help' is very common in everyday conversation.
3. a person paid to clean a home, office, or other building and do general small ta
a person paid to clean a home, office, or other building and do general small tasks.
The family hired a help to come in twice a week to clean the house.
a + help (countable, one person)
When Quan's grandmother became unwell, they employed a help who cooked and cleaned.
The office help arrives at six to vacuum the carpets and empty the bins.
A young woman worked as a help for several families in the neighbourhood.
- hired help
- domestic help
- a help
- cleaner
more common in modern usage; focuses on cleaning tasks
- housekeeper
broader role that may include cleaning, laundry, and organising
- domestic worker
formal term; covers cleaning, cooking, and childcare
Grammar Patterns
a + help
the + help
Usage Note
This sense is less common in modern American English, where 'housekeeper' or 'cleaner' is preferred. In British and Indian English, 'a help' is still used but can sound dated.
Common Mistakes
4. a group of people employed in a home to take care of tasks such as cleaning, coo
a group of people employed in a home to take care of tasks such as cleaning, cooking, gardening, or childcare.
The household help at the estate includes a cook, a driver, and two gardeners.
the + help (collective, multiple staff)
They brought in extra help for the wedding — eight servers and three dishwashers.
extra + help (temporary additional staff)
Most of the help live in rooms above the garage and eat their meals together.
The help were given the day off after working through the holiday weekend.
- the help
- hired help
- extra help
- domestic help
- staff
broader; not limited to domestic work; used in any workplace
- domestic staff
more formal; specifically refers to household employees
- servants
more old-fashioned; implies a class distinction
Grammar Patterns
the + help
some + help
extra + help
Usage Note
Used as an uncountable collective noun (like 'staff'). The verb following it can be singular or plural depending on whether the group is seen as one unit or many individuals. This usage is old-fashioned and very rare in everyday modern speech.
Common Mistakes
help — exclamation
1. a cry from someone in immediate danger, urgently asking for rescue.
a cry from someone in immediate danger, urgently asking for rescue.
Help! Help! The boat is taking on water! shouted the fisherman.
repeated cry for immediate danger
A child was screaming Help! from inside the burning house.
Meera heard someone yell Help! as the strong current pulled them out to sea.
The climber shouted Help! when he slipped and hung from the edge of the cliff.
Grammar Patterns
Help!
Usage Note
This is not a verb or noun — it is an exclamation (interjection) shouted in emergencies. It cannot be used as a verb meaning 'rescue'; the correct verb sense for rescue is covered by verb sense 1 when the context involves saving someone from danger.
Common Mistakes
Word family
- helpernounA2
- helpfuladjectiveA2
- helpfullyadverbB1
- helpfulnessnounB2
- helplessadjectiveB2
- helplesslyadverbB2
- helplessnessnounC1
- unhelpfuladjectiveB2
- helpingnounB1
Synonym discussion
Sense: verb/1
Help is the most general and common word: you can help someone carry bags, finish work, or solve a problem. Assist is more formal and often suggests a secondary role — the person assisting is not the main person doing the task. Aid is even more formal and is often used for emergency relief, financial support, or organisations that provide resources ('aid agencies'). Support implies longer-term backing — emotional, financial, or practical — and suggests standing with someone through a process rather than doing a specific task for them. For example: a friend helps you move house (doing the physical work); a counsellor supports you through grief (ongoing emotional care); a nurse assists a doctor during surgery (professional, secondary role); an international organisation aids refugees (providing food, shelter, medicine).
Common collocations
Nouns
- help desk
- help centre
- help line
- help file
Adverbs
- greatly help
- enormously help
- certainly help
Phrases
- with the help of
- beyond help
- come to the help of
Prepositions
- help with
- help in
- help for
Etymology
The word 'help' comes from Old English 'helpan' (verb), which goes back to a Proto-Germanic root *helpana. This root is related to Old Norse 'hjalpa', Old High German 'helfan', and Gothic 'hilpan'. The deeper origin is a Proto-Indo-European root *kelb- or *kelp-, which may have meant 'to help' or 'to support'. The noun form developed naturally from the verb in Old English, and the exclamation 'Help!' as a cry for rescue has been in use since at least the 1500s.