aid

noun

(uncountable) Help; assistance; succor, relief.

(countable) A helper; an assistant.

(countable) Something which helps; a material source of help.

(countable, chiefly in the plural, horse racing) The rider's use of hands, legs, voice, etc. to control the horse.

(countable, British) An historical subsidy granted to the crown by Parliament for an extraordinary purpose, such as a war effort.

(countable, British) An exchequer loan.

(countable, law) A pecuniary tribute paid by a vassal to his feudal lord on special occasions.

(countable) Alternative form of aide (“an aide-de-camp”). [An assistant.]

Initialism of artificial insemination by donor.

Acronym of Agency for International Development.

verb

(transitive) To provide support to; to further the progress of; to help; to assist.

(climbing) To climb with the use of aids such as pitons.

Roots

adiutoaid- · Latin · help

Synonyms for aid

assistancen helpv assistv succorn reliefn supportn rescuen abetv aiden availn helpmaten assuagementn auxiliaryadj coadjutantadj ministrantn subventionn

Synonyms & related words for aid

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of aid — including assistance, help, assist, succor, relief, support. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to aid

Explore words related to aid — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include holpen, bestead, assistive, succursal, adminicle, subventionary, sustentacular, rilievo. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for aid

Common synonyms for aid include assistance, help, assist, succor, relief, support, rescue, abet — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does aid come from?

The word aid breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root aid-, from Latin adiuto (“help”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.