US: an act or action that helps someone : an act of assistance
He wrote the story with an assist from a friend. [=with the help of a friend]
2
: the action (such as a throw or pass) of a player who enables a teammate to make a putout (as in baseball) or score a goal (as in basketball or hockey)
Verb The device assists those who can't climb stairs. The President was assisted by his advisers. She assisted the boy with his homework. Another doctor assisted him with the operation. Another doctor assisted with the operation. Federal agents are assisting with the investigation. She assisted in making the decision. The cream assists in the prevention of skin cancer. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Dixon, who is in his 20th season with Ganassi and the team’s most tenured driver, does not speak to Palou and is unsure if Palou will do anything to assist him in Sunday’s championship race. Jenna Fryer, Orlando Sentinel, 9 Sep. 2022 My procedure, showing plenty of imagery to assist you along the way. Chris Smith, BGR, 1 Sep. 2022 Privacy and reproductive rights advocates have warned that data collected from mobile health apps or online search information could be used to build a case against people seeking abortions or health-care professionals and others who assist them. Leah Nylen, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2022 Revisit with your cardiologist to get a clear idea of the potential benefit and harm specific for your case, and bring a friend or family member to assist you. Dr. Keith Roach, oregonlive, 29 Aug. 2022 At other moments, Turner has proposed that Trump may have held onto classified documents to assist him in writing his memoirs. Alex Thomas, The New Republic, 26 Aug. 2022 The purpose is to remove salt from the water and assist them with growing more crops. Rima Abdelkader, NBC News, 23 Aug. 2022 The classification enables Israel to jail those found to be members and sanction those who fund or assist them. Dov Lieber And Aaron Boxerman, WSJ, 18 Aug. 2022 Others have suggested that one man fell from the blimp and the other jumped into the sea to assist him. Greg Daugherty, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Aug. 2022
Noun
Injuries played a factor, true, but Foligno produced a meager 2-11–13 across 64 games last season, augmented by a lone assist in seven playoff games against the Hurricanes. Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Sep. 2022 After getting medically cleared in May and playing a summer slate with his club team, Hanks kicked off his 2022 debut by scoring three goals and adding an assist in an 8-2 romp over Fairfield on Aug. 26. Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 9 Sep. 2022 Or one that checks your location and matches its level of assist to local regulations. John Timmer, Ars Technica, 8 Sep. 2022 Cabrera also threw out a runner at the plate in the 10th for the AL East leaders, the fifth outfield assist for Cabrera since his debut Aug. 17.San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Sep. 2022 The group hopes to use their footage to determine the ship's decay rate and assist archeologists in studying the wreckage. Phillip Nieto, Fox News, 6 Sep. 2022 Then, three days later, the still-explosive 6-foot point guard arrived with a 20-point, nine-assist effort in a victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 6 Sep. 2022 Three of those came in the fifth inning and he was aided by rookie RF Oswaldo Cabrera’s fourth career outfield assist when Miranda was thrown out trying to stretch his single in the fifth. Larry Fleisher, ajc, 5 Sep. 2022 And for Vandersloot in 2020 to break Ticha Penicheiro’s single-game assist record. Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 4 Sep. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English assisten "to help, aid, give aid (to)," borrowed from Anglo-French assister (Middle French also "to be present near, stand near" [with a "to"]), borrowed from Latin assistō, assistere "to take up a position near, stand by, stand by as a supporter or advocate," from ad-ad- (assimilated to as-) + sistere "to cause to stand, assume a standing position, place, check, halt," going back to Indo-European *sti-sth2-e-, reduplicated present formation from the base *steh2- "set up (in a place), take a position," whence also Old Irish ˑsissedar (in arˑsissedar "[s/he] stays, stands fast"), Greek hístēmi, histánai "to cause to stand, place," hístamai, hístasthai "to take up a position, come and stand," Sanskrit tíṣṭhati "(s/he) takes a position, stands," Avestan hištaṇti "(they) take a position" — more at stand entry 1