I. help 1 S1 W1 /help/ BrE AmE verb
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ help , ↑ helper , ↑ helpfulness ≠ ↑ unhelpfulness , ↑ helping , ↑ helplessness ; adverb : ↑ helpfully ≠ ↑ unhelpfully , ↑ helplessly ; adjective : ↑ helpful ≠ ↑ unhelpful , ↑ helpless ; verb : ↑ help ]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: helpan ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to make it possible or easier for someone to do something by doing part of their work or by giving them something they need:
If there’s anything I can do to help, just give me a call.
help somebody (to) do something
I helped her to carry her cases up the stairs.
She helped him choose some new clothes.
herbal products that help you to relax and sleep
help (to) do something
She was coming to help clean the machines.
help somebody with something
Can I help you with the washing up?
My father said he’s going to help me with the fees.
help somebody on/off with something (=help someone put on or take off a piece of clothing)
Here, let me help you on with your coat.
help somebody somewhere (=help someone get to a particular place, especially because they are old, ill, or hurt)
She helped the old man across the road.
2 . [intransitive and transitive] to make a situation better, easier, or less painful:
Crying won’t help.
If you get rid of your car you could be helping the environment.
It helps my concentration if I listen to music while I’m working.
It helped a lot to know that someone understood how I felt.
Eight hours of deep sleep helped enormously.
3 . help yourself (to something)
a) to take some of what you want, without asking permission – used especially when offering food to someone:
Please help yourself to some cake.
b) informal to steal something:
Obviously he had been helping himself to the money.
4 . help! spoken used to call people and ask them to help you when you are in danger
5 . somebody can’t help (doing) something ( also somebody can’t help but do something ) used to say that someone is unable to change their behaviour or feelings, or to prevent themselves from doing something:
She couldn’t help it if she was being irrational.
‘Stop biting your nails.’ ‘I can’t help it.’
I can’t help the way I feel about you.
Lee could not help but agree with her.
somebody can’t help feeling/thinking/wondering etc something
I can’t help feeling that there has been a mistake.
I couldn’t help thinking about the past.
6 . I couldn’t help myself/she couldn’t help herself etc to be unable to stop yourself from doing something you should not do:
She knew she sounded just like her mother but she couldn’t help herself.
7 . it can’t be helped spoken used to say that there is nothing you can do to change a bad situation:
She said she had to leave him for a while; it couldn’t be helped.
8 . somebody is helping the police with their enquiries British English the police are interviewing someone about a crime, especially because they believe that this person may have committed the crime
9 . a helping hand help and support
give/lend/offer etc somebody a helping hand
She’s been giving me a helping hand with the children.
10 . not if I can help it spoken used to say that you are not going to do something:
‘Are you going to watch the school play?’ ‘Not if I can help it.’
11 . God help him/them etc spoken used to say that something bad may happen to someone:
‘Good luck.’ ‘God help me. I think I’m going to need it.’
12 . so help me (God) used when making a serious promise, especially in a court of law
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ help to make it easier for someone to do something, by doing something for them or giving them something they need:
Is there anything I can do to help?
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Dad, I can’t do my homework. Will you help me?
▪ assist formal to help someone:
He was employed to assist the manager in his duties.
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Some of the guests assisted with the preparation of the food.
▪ aid formal to help someone to do something – used especially when saying that something helps your body to do something:
Coffee can aid concentration.
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Fennel aids the digestion.
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There are plenty of materials to aid the teacher.
▪ help out to help someone, especially because there are not enough people to do all the work, or they need someone to give them something:
Organizing the school trip will be a lot of work, so I need some volunteers to help out.
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My parents have helped us out on several occasions by sending us money.
▪ give somebody a hand informal to help someone to do something, especially by carrying or lifting things:
Can you give me a hand moving these boxes?
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Dave wants to paint the kitchen and I promised I’d give him a hand.
▪ lend a hand informal to help someone, especially when there are not enough people to do something:
Scott is moving on Saturday and we promised to lend a hand.
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I went over to see if I could lend a hand.
help something ↔ along phrasal verb
to make a process or activity happen more quickly or easily:
She asked a few questions to help the conversation along.
help out phrasal verb
to help someone because they are busy or have problems:
Do you need anyone to help out in the shop?
help somebody ↔ out (with something)
I helped her out when Stella became ill.
She was helping him out with his mortgage repayments.
II. help 2 S1 W1 BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ help , ↑ helper , ↑ helpfulness ≠ ↑ unhelpfulness , ↑ helping , ↑ helplessness ; adverb : ↑ helpfully ≠ ↑ unhelpfully , ↑ helplessly ; adjective : ↑ helpful ≠ ↑ unhelpful , ↑ helpless ; verb : ↑ help ]
1 . [uncountable] things you do to make it easier or possible for someone to do something:
Thank you for all your help.
help with something/with doing something
Do you want any help with the washing up?
help to do something
I could do with some help to bring the bags in from the car.
help (in) doing something
He asked for my help in getting an interview with her.
with the help of somebody/with sb’s help
We manage, with the help of a nurse who comes daily.
2 . [singular, uncountable] if someone or something is a help to you, they are useful and make it easier for you to do something:
That map isn’t much help.
with the help of something
I managed to make myself understood with the help of a phrase book.
be of great/little/no/some etc help (to somebody)
Let me know if I can be of any help to you.
be a (great/big/tremendous/real etc) help (to somebody)
Any information would be a great help.
You’ve been a real help to me, Carrie.
3 . [uncountable] advice, treatment, information, or money which is given to people who need it:
A lot of these children need professional help.
help with
You may be able to ask for help with the rent.
We received no help from the police.
4 . [uncountable] a part of a computer program that helps someone using it by giving additional information
5 . the help American English someone’s servant or servants
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 1)
■ verbs
▪ give somebody help
Do you want me to give you some help?
▪ ask (somebody) for help
He asked for help with the cleaning.
▪ need help
Some of the older patients need help with walking.
▪ get/receive help
She gets no help from her husband.
▪ offer (your) help
The taxi driver offered his help and we accepted.
▪ provide help
The goverment should do more to provide help for people who are looking for work.
▪ appeal for help (=publicly ask for help)
The police are appealing for help to track down the killer.
▪ enlist sb’s help (=persuade someone to help you)
She enlisted the help of a private investigator to find her missing son.
▪ find help
To get it finished by tomorrow, we’ll need to find help from somewhere.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 3)
■ adjectives
▪ financial help
We received a lot of financial help from my family.
▪ professional help
You need to seek some professional help.
▪ medical help
She needs urgent medical help.
▪ legal help
You can find free legal help for your problem by logging onto our website.
▪ technical help
I might need some technical help understanding the instructions.
▪ practical help
The organization offers practical help with finding accommodation.
▪ expert help
If the issues are complex, expert help can be sought from the adoption agency.
■ verbs
▪ get/receive help from somebody
You will be able to get confidential help from your doctor.
▪ give (somebody) help
The fund was set up to give financial help to war veterans.
▪ provide help
If you have to move, we provide financial help towards the cost.
▪ offer help
We offer free help for people with debts.
▪ seek help (=ask for help)
He decided to seek medical help for his drink problem.
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THESAURUS
▪ help the things you do to make it easier or possible for someone to do something:
Now that I’m working, the kids need to give me more help with the housework.
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The book would never have been finished without his help.
▪ assistance help. Assistance is more formal than help , and is used especially about people giving official help:
The police are asking the public for their assistance.
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The project received financial assistance from the government.
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Thank you very much for your assistance, sir.
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He set up the business with the assistance of his two sons.
▪ aid help. Aid is more formal than help , and is used especially about money, food, medicine etc. that is given to countries or people that are in a very bad situation:
Aid is being sent to areas affected by the earthquake.
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The US spends billions of dollars on aid to developing countries.
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Another driver stopped and came to his aid.
▪ support help and encouragement:
Thanks to everyone who gave us their support.
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We could not have won the case without your support.
▪ cooperation help – used especially when people, organizations, or countries work together to get things done, and show that they are willing to do this:
a spirit of international cooperation
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The cooperation of landowners was needed for the plan to succeed.
▪ backup extra people, equipment etc that can be used in case people need help:
The officer waited for backup to arrive before making any arrests.