Idioms for help
Origin of help
before 900; Middle English
helpen, Old English
helpan; cognate with German
helfen
SYNONYMS FOR help
1
encourage,
befriend;
support,
second,
uphold,
back,
abet.
Help,
aid,
assist,
succor agree in the idea of furnishing another with something needed, especially when the need comes at a particular time.
Help implies furnishing anything that furthers one's efforts or relieves one's wants or necessities.
Aid and
assist, somewhat more formal, imply especially a furthering or seconding of another's efforts.
Aid implies a more active helping;
assist implies less need and less help. To
succor, still more formal and literary, is to give timely help and relief in difficulty or distress:
Succor him in his hour of need.
3 further, promote, foster.
6 ameliorate.
7 alleviate, cure, heal.
12 support, backing.
usage note for help
21.
Help but, in sentences like
She's so clever you can't help but admire her, has been condemned by some as the ungrammatical version of
cannot help admiring her, but the idiom is common in all kinds of speech and writing and can only be characterized as standard.
OTHER WORDS FROM help
Words nearby help
helophyte,
helot,
helotism,
helotomy,
helotry,
help,
help oneself,
help out,
help screens,
helper,
helper cell
British Dictionary definitions for can't help but
help
/ (hɛlp) /
verb
noun
interjection
used to ask for assistance
See also
help out
Derived forms of help
helpable, adjective helper, nounWord Origin for help
Old English
helpan; related to Old Norse
hjalpa, Gothic
hilpan, Old High German
helfan
Idioms and Phrases with can't help but
help