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."
To help out, to lend aid; to bring a supply.
noun
helping n.
1.
A quantity of food served as part of a meal.
Synonyms:portion, serving.
2.
The activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose.
... nodding significantly. "I think they will do me good, and you, too, Nurse Hagar; and before very long, too. Why, bless you, these precious plotters won't wait for me to bring them into my net; they are tumbling in headlong—all of them. They are helping me, with all their might, to bring about their own downfall. Hagar," and the girl leaned suddenly forward and looked closely into the old woman's face, "I want you to come ... — Madeline Payne, the Detective's Daughter • Lawrence L. Lynch Read full book for free!
... flood that illuminated the world outside me, and forced by rigid, arbitrary circumstances to train my growing convictions into many a hazardous channel, left to myself to grope among the dawning mysteries of life, that are a burden to age and experience even when lightened by the helping hand of a common sympathy, I ceased before long to struggle against these abstract foes that made a mockery of my childish ... — The Doctor's Daughter • "Vera" Read full book for free!
... night. He said the man let him take a nap on his coat when he got sleepy. I went at once to see this man, and told him not to hire my nephew again. A lady who kept a hotel offered me two dollars a week for Lawrence's services in helping the cook and serving in the help's dining-room. When the season closed, the lady who hired Lawrence was very reluctant ... — Memories of Childhood's Slavery Days • Annie L. Burton Read full book for free!
... would be that to him—his haven and comfort when he was weary with the storm and stress of life—God helping her, now and for ever "his ... — Herb of Grace • Rosa Nouchette Carey Read full book for free!
... ship's stern, and explained all that had happened. The ship proved to be an East Indiaman, bound for Charleston, having, all told, thirty men on board, twenty of whom at once jumped into the clipper and offered their services in helping to ... — Thrilling Adventures by Land and Sea • James O. Brayman Read full book for free!
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