Help v. t. (past & past part. helped; obs. past holp, obs. past part. holpen; pres. part. helping)
1.
To furnish with strength or means for the successful performance of any action or the attainment of any object; to aid; to assist; as, to help a man in his work; to help one to remember; the following infinitive is commonly used without to; as, "Help me scale yon balcony."
2.
To furnish with the means of deliverance from trouble; as, to help one in distress; to help one out of prison."God help, poor souls, how idly do they talk!"
3.
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. "To help him of his blindness.""The true calamus helps coughs."
4.
To change for the better; to remedy. "Cease to lament for what thou canst not help."
5.
To prevent; to hinder; as, the evil approaches, and who can help it?
6.
To forbear; to avoid. "I can not help remarking the resemblance betwixt him and our author."
7.
To wait upon, as the guests at table, by carving and passing food.
To help forward, to assist in advancing.
To help off, to help to go or pass away, as time; to assist in removing.
To help on, to forward; to promote by aid.
To help out, to aid, as in delivering from a difficulty, or to aid in completing a design or task. "The god of learning and of light Would want a god himself to help him out."
To help over, to enable to surmount; as, to help one over an obstacle.
To help to, to supply with; to furnish with; as, to help one to soup.
To help up, to help (one) to get up; to assist in rising, as after a fall, and the like. "A man is well holp up that trusts to you."
Synonyms:To aid; assist; succor; relieve; serve; support; sustain; befriend. To Help, Aid, Assist. These words all agree in the idea of affording relief or support to a person under difficulties. Help turns attention especially to the source of relief. If I fall into a pit, I call for help; and he who helps me out does it by an act of his own. Aid turns attention to the other side, and supposes coöperation on the part of him who is relieved; as, he aided me in getting out of the pit; I got out by the aid of a ladder which he brought. Assist has a primary reference to relief afforded by a person who "stands by" in order to relieve. It denotes both help and aid. Thus, we say of a person who is weak, I assisted him upstairs, or, he mounted the stairs by my assistance. When help is used as a noun, it points less distinctively and exclusively to the source of relief, or, in other words, agrees more closely with aid. Thus we say, I got out of a pit by the help of my friend.
Help v. i. To lend aid or assistance; to contribute strength or means; to avail or be of use; to assist. "A generous present helps to persuade, as well as an agreeable person."
... a dog up on top of their wagon. First off, you would think it didn't help out much, it is such a forlorn looking little fice; but this dog, I want you to know, waked up the folks late one night, 'way 'long about ten or eleven o'clock, barking at a fire. Saved the town, as you might say. And after that, the fire-boys took ... — Back Home • Eugene Wood Read full book for free!
... never refused his instructions [2]. All that he required, was an ardent desire for improvement, and some degree of capacity. 'I do not open up the truth,' he said, 'to one who is not eager to get knowledge, nor help out any one who is not anxious to explain himself. When I have presented one corner of a subject to any one, and he cannot from it learn the other three, I do not repeat my lesson [3].' His mother died in the year B.C. 527, and he resolved ... — THE CHINESE CLASSICS (PROLEGOMENA) Unicode Version • James Legge Read full book for free!
... Sherleys, the Hokes, the Haldermans, Harneys, and Slaughters— All, famed in Kentucky of old for prowess prodigious at farming, Now surged from their prosperous homes to join in that hunt for the truant, To ascertain where he was at, to help out the chorus ... — Songs and Other Verse • Eugene Field Read full book for free!
... told his mates, "and we seem to have everything necessary. Of course we're going as light as we can, and no blankets are allowed, or tents either; but we've looked after the eating part of the game; and besides, we've got our guns, in case we have to knock over a caribou or other game to help out." ... — Boy Scouts on Hudson Bay - The Disappearing Fleet • G. Harvey Ralphson Read full book for free!
... Please let me know what you can afford to pay a prime concert actor. Between times I can help out in the circus ring if you have clothes fit to ... — Watch Yourself Go By • Al. G. Field Read full book for free!
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