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  1. help love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. v. To give assistance to; aid: I helped her find the book. He helped me into my coat.
  2. v. To contribute to the furtherance of; promote.
  3. v. To give relief to: help the needy.
  4. v. To ease; relieve: medication to help your cold.
  5. v. To change for the better; improve: A fresh coat of paint will help a scarred old table.
  6. v. To refrain from; avoid or resist. Used with can or cannot: couldn't help laughing.
  7. v. To wait on, as in a store or restaurant.
  8. v. To be of service; give assistance.
  9. n. The act or an instance of helping.
  10. n. Aid or assistance.
  11. n. Relief; remedy.
  12. n. One that helps: You've been a great help. A food processor is a help to the serious cook.
  13. n. A person employed to help, especially a farm worker or domestic servant.
  14. n. Such employees considered as a group. Often used with the.
  15. idiom. help (oneself) to To serve or provide oneself with: Help yourself to the cookies.
  16. idiom. help (oneself) to Informal To take (something) without asking permission: The thief helped himself to our family silver.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. 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.
  2. To bring succor or relief to; relieve; rescue.
  3. To mitigate, as pain or disease; heal, relieve, or comfort, as a person in pain or distress.
  4. To mend; repair.
  5. To change for the better; remedy: as, he cannot help his deformity.
  6. To prevent; avoid; forbear; keep or refrain from: with can or cannot.
  7. To increase; aggravate.
  8. 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.
  9. To give out in portions.
  10. To lend aid; be of use; avail.
  11. To serve or distribute food, as at table.
  12. n. Assistance; aid given toward doing, accomplishing, or attaining anything, as labor, escape from danger or difficulty, discharge of obligations, etc.
  13. n. Remedy; relief; succor; means of deliverance: as, failure is inevitable, there is no help for it.
  14. n. A source of aid, relief, or succor; a helper.
  15. n. Hence An assistant; a hired laborer or servant; especially, a domestic or household servant; collectively, servants or assistants; the supply of workers.

Wiktionary

  1. n. uncountable Action given to provide assistance; aid.
  2. n. A person or persons who provide assistance with some task.
  3. n. One or more people employed to help in the maintenance of a house or the operation of a farm or enterprise.
  4. n. uncountable, euphemistic Correction of deficits, as by psychological counseling or medication or social support or remedial training.
  5. v. transitive To provide assistance to (someone or something).
  6. v. transitive To contribute in some way to.
  7. v. intransitive To provide assistance.
  8. v. transitive To avoid; to prevent; to refrain from; to restrain (oneself). Usually used in nonassertive contexts with can.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. 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
  2. v. To furnish with the means of deliverance from trouble
  3. 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.
  4. v. To change for the better; to remedy.
  5. v. To prevent; to hinder; as, the evil approaches, and who can help it?
  6. v. To forbear; to avoid.
  7. v. To wait upon, as the guests at table, by carving and passing food.
  8. v. To lend aid or assistance; to contribute strength or means; to avail or be of use; to assist.
  9. n. Strength or means furnished toward promoting an object, or deliverance from difficulty or distress; aid; ^; also, the person or thing furnishing the aid.
  10. n. Remedy; relief.
  11. n. A helper; one hired to help another; also, thew hole force of hired helpers in any business.
  12. n. Local, U. S. Specifically, a domestic servant, man or woman.

WordNet 3.0

  1. v. improve the condition of
  2. v. abstain from doing; always used with a negative
  3. v. contribute to the furtherance of
  4. n. a person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
  5. v. be of use
  6. v. improve; change for the better
  7. n. a resource
  8. n. a means of serving
  9. n. the activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
  10. v. give help or assistance; be of service
  11. v. take or use
  12. v. help to some food; help with food or drink

Etymologies

  1. From Middle English helpen, from Old English helpan ("to help, aid, assist, benefit, relieve, cure"), from Proto-Germanic *helpanan (“to help”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱelb-, *ḱelp- (“to help”). Cognate with West Frisian helpe ("to help"), Dutch helpen ("to help"), German helfen ("to help"), Danish hjælpe ("to help"), Norwegian hjelpe ("to help"). (Wiktionary)
  2. Middle English helpen, from Old English helpan. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “It sounds to me like you also need help - not just meds, but someone to *help*.”

    Deep Into The Darkness

  • ““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

  • “Don’t urge me; help me, —help me, because I love you.”

    XI. In the Lane. Book VI—The Great Temptation

  • “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

  • “` Massa, shall I help you? 'and you say, ` Yes, you must _help_ me.”

    Olla Podrida

  • “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.”

    An History of Birmingham (1783)

  • “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,”

    Notes to Shakespeare — Volume 01: Comedies

  • “These auctions will benefit a child cancer patient and help with their bills - Happy Bidding and thank you for your help~”

    www.hardrockhideout.com

  • “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.”

    Concerning Christian Liberty

  • “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.”

    Aspergers

Show 10 more examples...

Lists

These user-created lists contain the word ‘help’.

Comments

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  • pinkfreud How do you call a person who refuses being helped? Nov 3, 2011

  • bilby See help. Sep 1, 2011

  • RichardB43 Wodnik needs a Help page.

    How do you add/suggest a new definition? Aug 31, 2011

  • seanmacdhai i need help... can you please delete my account? Sep 15, 2009

  • zaggan LOL love the beatles citation. May 27, 2009

  • frindley See video for how to specify a particular point in a linked YouTube video. Nov 1, 2008

  • Prolagus Oh, you're right! (deleted) Sep 18, 2008

  • gangerh That's no help! Sep 18, 2008

  • reesetee 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. ;-) Apr 28, 2008

  • vanishedone Obvious citation:


    Help! I need somebody.
    Help! Not just anybody.
    Help! You know I need someone.
    Help!

    - The Beatles Apr 27, 2008

  • frindley 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. Apr 27, 2008

  • uselessness 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. Mar 5, 2007

Tweets

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‘help’ has been looked up 7201 times, loved by 1 person, added to 38 lists, commented on 12 times, and has a Scrabble score of 9.