help
Other forms: helped; helping; helps
The verb help means to give aid or assistance to. You can help your friend organize a car wash at school by making posters and putting them up all over town.
Help can also mean to serve food or drink––as in, "Help yourself!" But don't serve yourself too much or there won't be enough for a second helping. One last meaning for help is the people hired to provide domestic services in a home. A nanny, a housekeeper, a gardener are often referred to somewhat derisively as "the help," because their job is helping the family.
Definitions of help
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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”
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types:
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alleviate, ease, facilitate
make easier
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assist, attend, attend to, serve, wait on
work for or be a servant to
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benefact
help as a benefactor
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help out
be of help, as in a particular situation of need
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subserve
be helpful or useful
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succor, succour
help in a difficult situation
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expedite, hasten
speed up the progress of; facilitate
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avail
be of use to, be useful to
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care, give care
provide care for
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bootstrap
help oneself, often through improvised means
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dry-nurse
take care of an infant without breastfeeding it
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valet
serve as a personal attendant to
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attend, look, see, take care
take charge of or deal with
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fuss, mother, overprotect
care for like a mother
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nurse
serve as a nurse; care for sick or handicapped people
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fag
act as a servant for older boys, in British public schools
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improve the condition of“These pills will help the patient”
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synonyms:
aid
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types:
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bring around, cure, heal
provide a cure for, make healthy again
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benefit, do good
be beneficial for
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recuperate
restore to good health or strength
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type of:
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ameliorate, amend, better, improve, meliorate
make better
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bring around, cure, heal
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improve; change for the better“New slipcovers will help the old living room furniture”
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type of:
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ameliorate, amend, better, improve, meliorate
make better
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ameliorate, amend, better, improve, meliorate
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be of use
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contribute to the furtherance of
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the activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose“offered his help in unloading”
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synonyms:
aid, assist, assistance
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types:
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self-help
the act of helping or improving yourself without relying on anyone else
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facilitation
act of assisting or making easier the progress or improvement of something
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hand, helping hand
physical assistance
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recourse, refuge, resort
act of turning to for assistance
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thanks
with the help of or owing to
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ministration, relief, succor, succour
assistance in time of difficulty
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lift
the act of giving temporary assistance
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service
an act of help or assistance
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accommodation
the act of providing something (lodging or seat or food) to meet a need
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boost, encouragement
the act of giving hope or support to someone
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comfort
assistance, such as that provided to an enemy or to a known criminal
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support
aiding the cause or policy or interests of
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service
the performance of duties by a waiter or servant
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child care, childcare
a service involving care for other people's children
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community service
an unpaid service for the benefit of the public that is performed by lawbreakers as part (or all) of their sentence
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community service, public service
a service that is performed for the benefit of the public or its institutions
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help desk, helpdesk
a service that provides information and assistance to the users of a computer network
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seating
the service of ushering people to their seats
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morale booster, morale building
anything that serves to increase morale
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comfort, consolation, solace
the act of consoling; giving relief in affliction
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adherence, adhesion, attachment
faithful support for a cause or political party or religion
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advocacy, protagonism
active support of an idea or cause etc.; especially the act of pleading or arguing for something
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sponsorship
the act of sponsoring (either officially or financially)
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endorsement, indorsement
the act of endorsing
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approval, approving, blessing
the formal act of approving
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reassurance
the act of reassuring; restoring someone's confidence
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mercy
alleviation of distress; showing great kindness toward the distressed
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type of:
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activity
any specific behavior
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a person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose“they hired additional help to finish the work”
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types:
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coadjutor
an assistant to a bishop
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accomplice, confederate
a person who joins with another in carrying out some plan (especially an unethical or illegal plan)
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aide, auxiliary
someone who acts as an assistant
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attendant, attender, tender
someone who waits on or tends to or attends to the needs of another
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bat boy
(baseball) a boy who takes care of bats and other baseball equipment
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dental assistant
an assistant to a dentist
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deputy, lieutenant
an assistant with power to act when his superior is absent
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actor's assistant, dresser
a wardrobe assistant for an actor
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event planner
someone who plans social events as a profession (usually for government or corporate officials)
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facilitator
someone who makes progress easier
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flower girl
a young girl who carries flowers in a (wedding) procession
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girl Friday
a female assistant who has a range of duties
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enforcer, hatchet man
one whose job it is to execute unpleasant tasks for a superior
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cat's-paw, instrument, pawn
a person used by another to gain an end
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birthing coach, doula, labor coach, monitrice
an assistant (often the father of the soon-to-be-born child) who provides support for a woman in labor by encouraging her to use techniques learned in childbirth-preparation classes
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underboss
an assistant or second-in-command to a chief (especially in a crime syndicate)
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fashion model, manakin, manikin, mannequin, mannikin, model
a woman who wears clothes to display fashions
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model, poser
a person who poses for a photographer or painter or sculptor
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paraprofessional
a trained worker who is not a member of a profession but who assists a professional
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powder monkey
someone who carries explosives (as from the magazine to the guns on board a warship)
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prompter, theater prompter
someone who assists a performer by providing the next words of a forgotten speech
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chief assistant, man Friday, right-hand man
the most helpful assistant
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secretarial assistant, secretary
an assistant who handles correspondence and clerical work for a boss or an organization
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sidesman
(Church of England) an assistant to the churchwarden; collects offerings of money in the church
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foot soldier, subordinate, subsidiary, underling
an assistant subject to the authority or control of another
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water boy, waterer
an assistant who supplies drinking water
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whipper-in
huntsman's assistant in managing the hounds
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companion
one paid to accompany or assist or live with another
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artist's model, sitter
a person who poses for a painter or sculptor
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associate
a person with subordinate membership in a society, institution, or commercial enterprise
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baggageman
an attendant who takes care of baggage
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batman
an orderly assigned to serve a British military officer
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bellboy, bellhop, bellman
someone employed to carry luggage and run errands in a hotel
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bottom dog
a person of low status
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bridesmaid, maid of honor
an unmarried woman who attends the bride at a wedding
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caddie, golf caddie
an attendant who carries the golf clubs for a player
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checker
an attendant who checks coats or baggage
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cog
a subordinate who performs an important but routine function
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courtier
an attendant at the court of a sovereign
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cupbearer
the attendant (usually an officer of a nobleman's household) whose duty is to fill and serve cups of wine
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decoy, steerer
a beguiler who leads someone into danger (usually as part of a plot)
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dressmaker's model
someone who models dresses
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equerry
a personal attendant of the British royal family
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escort
an attendant who is employed to accompany someone
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esquire
(Middle Ages) an attendant and shield bearer to a knight; a candidate for knighthood
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executive secretary
a secretary having administrative duties and responsibilities
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famulus
a close attendant (as to a scholar)
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gillie
a young male attendant on a Scottish Highlander chief
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groomsman
a male attendant of the bridegroom at a wedding
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lifeguard, lifesaver
an attendant employed at a beach or pool to protect swimmers from accidents
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linkboy, linkman
(formerly) an attendant hired to carry a torch for pedestrians in dark streets
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loader
an attendant who loads guns for someone shooting game
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man
a male subordinate
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matron of honor
a married woman serving as the attendant to the bride at a wedding
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nurse's aide, nursing aide
someone who assists a nurse in tasks that require little formal training
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hospital attendant, orderly
a male hospital attendant who has general duties that do not involve the medical treatment of patients
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orderly
a soldier who serves as an attendant to a superior officer
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page, varlet
in medieval times a youth acting as a knight's attendant as the first stage in training for knighthood
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page
a youthful attendant at official functions or ceremonies such as legislative functions and weddings
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legal assistant, paralegal
a person with specialized training who assists lawyers
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paramedic, paramedical
a person trained to assist medical professionals and to give emergency medical treatment
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photographer's model
a model who poses for photographers
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racker
an attendant who puts pool or billiard balls into a rack
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receptionist
a secretary whose main duty is to answer the telephone and receive visitors
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rocker
an attendant who rocks a child in a cradle
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second
the official attendant of a contestant in a duel or boxing match
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second banana, second fiddle
someone who serves in a subordinate capacity or plays a secondary role
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second-in-command
someone who relieves a commander
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servitor
someone who performs the duties of an attendant for someone else
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social secretary
a personal secretary who handles your social correspondence and appointments
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squire
a young nobleman attendant on a knight
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gallant, squire
a man who attends or escorts a woman
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amanuensis, shorthand typist, stenographer
someone skilled in the transcription of speech (especially dictation)
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flight attendant, steward
an attendant on an airplane
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litter-bearer, stretcher-bearer
one who helps carry a stretcher
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supermodel
a fashion model who has attained the status of a celebrity
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trainbearer
one who holds up the train of a gown or robe on a ceremonial occasion
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vicar-general
(Roman Catholic Church) an administrative deputy who assists a bishop
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vice-regent
a regent's deputy
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arouser, rouser, waker
someone who rouses others from sleep
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valet
someone employed to park and retrieve cars
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type of:
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worker
a person who works at a specific occupation
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a resource
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synonyms:
aid, assistance
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type of:
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resource
a source of aid or support that may be drawn upon when needed
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resource
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a means of serving“there's no help for it”
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type of:
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helpfulness
the property of providing useful assistance
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helpfulness
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abstain from doing; always used with a negative“She could not help watching the sad spectacle”
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synonyms:
help oneself
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take or use
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help to some food; help with food or drink
Pronunciation
US
/hɛlp/
UK
/hɛlp/
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘help'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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