Assist vs. Help: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on December 25, 2023
Assist implies providing support or aid to someone, often in a specific task or role, while help encompasses a broader range of support, including physical, emotional, or informational aid.
Key Differences
Assist typically refers to providing support or aid in a specific context or task, often implying a supplementary role rather than taking over the task completely. Help, in contrast, covers a wider spectrum of support, ranging from physical assistance to emotional and informational aid, and can imply more direct involvement in the task or problem at hand.
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Nov 28, 2023
In sports, an assist is a specific term used to describe a play that directly leads to a score by another player, highlighting the collaborative nature of the term. Help, however, is more general and can be used in various contexts, from everyday life to professional scenarios, and does not necessarily imply a collaborative effort.
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Nov 28, 2023
Assist often conveys a sense of professionalism and expertise, as seen in roles like teaching assistants or medical assistants, where the assistance is specific and skilled. Help is more versatile and can be informal, like helping a friend move, or formal, like a professional helping a client.
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The word assist is often used in a context where the person providing assistance is doing so in a role that is secondary to the main actor, such as assisting a manager or a lead surgeon. Help, however, can be provided by anyone regardless of their role or relationship to the person being helped and does not inherently imply a secondary position.
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Assist implies a more targeted and specific form of aid, often within a defined scope or towards a particular aspect of a larger task. Help is a more general term that can encompass any form of aid, support, or assistance, whether targeted or broad, simple or complex.
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Comparison Chart
Scope
Specific support or aid in a task or role.
Broad range of support, physical, emotional, or informational.
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Context
Professional, skilled, or collaborative.
Versatile, informal or formal, in various contexts.
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Nature of Role
Supplementary, often in a secondary position.
Can be primary or secondary, provided by anyone.
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Specificity
Targeted assistance within a defined scope.
General aid, encompassing any form of support.
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Examples
Sports plays, professional assistance roles.
Everyday help, emergency aid, informal support.
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Nov 28, 2023
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Assist and Help Definitions
Assist
To provide support or aid to someone in a specific task.
She will assist the chef in the kitchen.
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Help
To provide assistance or support to someone.
Can you help me move these boxes?
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Assist
Offering targeted aid in a professional or skilled role.
The teaching assistant will assist students with their lab work.
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Help
Contributing to easing someone's task or burden.
She helped her friend with the study materials.
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Assist
Providing aid in a specific aspect of a larger task.
Can you assist me with the data analysis for this project?
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Help
Providing necessary support or relief.
The relief organization helped the flood victims.
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Assist
In sports, contributing to a play that leads to a score.
He got an assist on the winning goal.
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Help
To give assistance to (someone); make it easier for (someone) to do something; aid
She helped me with my project. I helped her find her book.
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Oct 19, 2023
Assist
Acting in a supplementary capacity to someone.
The nurse will assist the surgeon during the operation.
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Assist
To give help or support to, especially as a subordinate or supplement; aid
The clerk assisted the judge by looking up related precedents. Her breathing was assisted by a respirator.
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Help
To wait on, as in a store or restaurant
Please help the customer in aisle 20.
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Help
To contribute to the effectiveness or improvement of (something); improve or advance
Tax breaks to help create jobs.
New ways to help the environment.
A remark that didn't help the situation.
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Assist
To be present, as at a conference
"Mr. Dick had regularly assisted at our councils, with a meditative and sage demeanor. He never made a suggestion but once" (Charles Dickens).
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Help
To ease the pain or discomfort of; relieve
Medication to help your cold.
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Assist
The act of giving aid; help
Cleaned the garage with the assist of a friend.
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Oct 19, 2023
Help
To refrain from; avoid or resist. Used with can or cannot
Couldn't help laughing.
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Assist
A fielding and throwing of a baseball in such a way that enables a teammate to put out a runner.
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Assist
A pass, as in basketball or ice hockey, that enables the receiver to score.
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Help
To be of use or provide relief
He has a bad back, and physical therapy hasn't helped.
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Help
One that helps
You've been a great help. A food processor is a help to the serious cook.
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Help
(Archaic) A person employed to help, especially a farm worker or domestic servant.
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Assist
(medicine) To help compensate for what is missing with the help of a medical technique or therapy.
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Assist
(archaic) To stand (at a place) or to (an opinion).
A great part of the nobility assisted to his opinion.
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Help
(uncountable) Action given to provide assistance; aid.
I need some help with my homework.
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Help
Something or someone which provides assistance with a task.
He was a great help to me when I was moving house.
I've printed out a list of math helps.
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Assist
A helpful action or an act of giving.
The foundation gave a much needed assist to the shelter.
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Help
Documentation provided with computer software, etc. and accessed using the computer.
I can't find anything in the help about rotating an image.
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Help
One or more people employed to help in the maintenance of a house or the operation of a farm or enterprise.
The help is coming round this morning to clean.
Most of the hired help is seasonal, for the harvest.
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Help
(uncountable) Correction of deficits, as by psychological counseling or medication or social support or remedial training.
His suicide attempts were a cry for help.
He really needs help in handling customer complaints.
“He’s a real road-rager.” / “Yup, he really needs help, maybe anger management.”
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Assist
(baseball) A defensive play, allowing a teammate to record a putout.
He had two assists in the game.
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Help
(transitive) To provide assistance to (someone or something).
He helped his grandfather cook breakfast.
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Assist
To give support to in some undertaking or effort, or in time of distress; to help; to aid; to succor.
Assist me, knight. I am undone!
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Help
(transitive) To assist (a person) in getting something, especially food or drink at table; used with to.
It is polite to help your guests to food before serving yourself.
Help yourself to whatever's in the fridge.
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Assist
To lend aid; to help.
With God not parted from him, as was feared,But favoring and assisting to the end.
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Help
(transitive) To contribute in some way to.
The white paint on the walls helps make the room look brighter.
If you want to get a job, it helps to have some prior experience.
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Help
(intransitive) To provide assistance.
She was struggling with the groceries, so I offered to help.
Please, help!
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Assist
The activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose;
He gave me an assist with the housework
Could not walk without assistance
Rescue party went to their aid
Offered his help in unloading
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Help
(transitive) To avoid; to prevent; to refrain from; to restrain (oneself). Usually used in nonassertive contexts with can.
We couldn’t help noticing that you were late.
We couldn’t help but notice that you were late.
She’s trying not to smile, but she can’t help herself.
Can I help it if I'm so beautiful?
Can I help it that I fell in love with you?
Are they going to beat us?
Not if I can help it!
She never does more than she can help.
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Oct 19, 2023
Assist
Give help or assistance; be of service;
Everyone helped out during the earthquake
Can you help me carry this table?
She never helps around the house
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Oct 19, 2023
Help
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."
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Help
To furnish with the means of deliverance from trouble; as, to help one in distress; to help one out of prison.
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Assist
Work for or be a servant to;
May I serve you?
She attends the old lady in the wheelchair
Can you wait on our table, please?
Is a salesperson assisting you?
The minister served the King for many years
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Help
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.
The true calamus helps coughs.
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Oct 19, 2023
Help
To change for the better; to remedy.
Cease to lament for what thou canst not help.
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Help
To forbear; to avoid.
I can not help remarking the resemblance betwixt him and our author.
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Oct 19, 2023
Help
To wait upon, as the guests at table, by carving and passing food.
The god of learning and of lightWould want a god himself to help him out.
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Oct 19, 2023
Help
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.
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Help
Strength or means furnished toward promoting an object, or deliverance from difficulty or distress; aid; ^; also, the person or thing furnishing the aid; as, he gave me a help of fifty dollars.
Give us help from trouble, for vain is the help of man.
God is . . . a very present help in trouble.
Virtue is a friend and a help to nature.
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Help
A helper; one hired to help another; also, thew hole force of hired helpers in any business.
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Help
The activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose;
He gave me an assist with the housework
Could not walk without assistance
Rescue party went to their aid
Offered his help in unloading
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Help
A resource;
Visual aids in teaching
Economic assistance to depressed areas
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Help
A person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose;
My invaluable assistant
They hired additional help to finish the work
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Help
Give help or assistance; be of service;
Everyone helped out during the earthquake
Can you help me carry this table?
She never helps around the house
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Help
Abstain from doing; always used with a negative;
I can't help myself--I have to smoke
She could not help watching the sad spectacle
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Help
Contribute to the furtherance of;
This money will help the development of literacy in developing countries
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Help
Improve; change for the better;
New slipcovers will help the old living room furniture
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Help
Help to some food; help with food or drink;
I served him three times, and after that he helped himself
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Help
Offering aid in a difficult situation.
He helped her when her car broke down.
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Nov 28, 2023
Help
Facilitating or making it easier for someone to do something.
This tool will help you complete the job faster.
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Repeatedly Asked Queries
How does assist differ in sports?
It specifically refers to a play that leads to a score by another player.
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Can help be non-physical?
Yes, it can include advice, guidance, or moral support.
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What does assist mean in a professional context?
Providing support in a specific role or task, often as a secondary contributor.
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Is an assist always physical?
No, it can also be informational or instructional.
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Is help always voluntary?
Often, but it can also be part of a professional duty or obligation.
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Can help be given anonymously?
Yes, help can be provided without revealing one’s identity.
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Is assist used in emergency situations?
Yes, but usually in a specific, targeted capacity.
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Does help imply a weaker position?
Not necessarily; it can be a mutual or empowering action.
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What is an assistant’s role?
To provide support in specific tasks, often under someone's guidance.
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Can assist imply a long-term role?
Yes, especially in roles like assistants in various professions.
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Can helping be a career?
Yes, in professions like healthcare, social work, or customer service.
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Is assist commonly used in daily language?
More in specific contexts compared to the more general use of help.
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Is help essential in society?
Yes, it's fundamental to social support and community building.
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Can help be a form of teaching?
Yes, teaching often involves helping others to learn or understand.
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Does help have cultural significance?
Yes, concepts of helping can vary and are important in all cultures.
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Does assist require expertise?
Sometimes, especially in professional or skilled roles.
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Can assist be interchangeable with help?
In many contexts, yes, but assist often implies a more specific role.
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Are there tools designed to assist?
Yes, various tools and technologies are created for assistance.
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Nov 28, 2023
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About Author
Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
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