assist
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to give aid or help.
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to be present, as at a meeting or ceremony.
noun
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Sports.
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Baseball. a play that helps to put out a batter or base runner.
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Basketball, Ice Hockey. a play that helps a teammate in gaining a goal.
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the official credit scored for such plays.
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a helpful act.
She finished her homework without an assist from her father.
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Machinery. an electrical, hydraulic, or mechanical means of increasing power, efficiency, or ease of use.
a luxury automobile equipped with assists for brakes, steering, windows, and seat adjustment.
verb
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to give help or support to (a person, cause, etc); aid
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to work or act as an assistant or subordinate to (another)
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ice hockey to help (a team-mate) to score, as by passing the puck
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archaic to be present; attend
noun
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the act of helping; aid; assistance
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baseball the act of a player who throws or deflects a batted ball in such a way that a team is enabled to put out an opponent
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sport
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a pass or other action by a player which enables another player to score a goal
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a credit given for such an action
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Synonym Usage
See help.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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reassistverb (used with object)
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unassistedadjective
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assisternoun
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nonassisternoun
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well-assistedadjective
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overassistverb
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unassistingadjective
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assistiveadjective
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has assistedperfect 3rd person singular
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have assistedperfect
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has been assistingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is assistingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am assistingprogressive 1st person singular
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are assistingprogressive
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have been assistingperfect progressive
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assistingparticiple
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assistssingular 3rd person
Past
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had assistedperfect
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were assistingprogressive plural
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assistedparticiple
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was assistingprogressive singular
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assistedsimple
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had been assistingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of assist
First recorded in 1505–15; from Latin assistere “to stand by, help,” from as- as- ( def. ) + sistere “to cause to stand, stop,” derivative of stāre “to stand” ( see also stand ( def. ))
Explanation
You run up the field, pass the ball to the forward and she scores! It’s your third assist of the game. On and off the soccer field, to assist is to help or contribute. The English word assist came to us in the early 15th century from the French word assister, meaning to "to stand by or help.” The French word is pronounced "ah-sis-tay" and is not to be confused with "a sister." Even if your sister is helpful.
Vocabulary lists containing assist
Defense, Dribble, and Dunk: Basketball Lingo
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Mother's Day Words: What Mothers Do
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Herbert Hoover on "Rugged Individualism" (1928)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They were both instrumental in a first half where USA looked capable of scoring with every attack, with Balogun producing two goals and Pulisic providing an assist.
From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026
Pulisic had been suffering a five-month goal drought, but was on superb form in a 3-2 friendly win over Senegal last month, with a goal and an assist.
From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026
The buzz: With a goal and an assist in the Americans’ penultimate warm-up with Senegal, Christian Pulisic broke out of a career-long scoring drought and proved himself ready for the World Cup.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
Another $2,000 is listed for Cornerstone Schools that year “to assist the inner city schools in Uganda,” which is what Cornerstone Schools does in Detroit and Cornerstone Development does not do in Uganda’s inner-city schools.
From Salon • Jun. 9, 2026
To assist Duane in explaining, he brought over the two books belonging to C.C. and turned to the pages that showed the illustrations and descriptions of both the great black-backed gull and the musk ox.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
