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help

help

136 1.0
A person hired to do work in a home or restaurant
  • noun
  • /hɛlp/
translation icon : empleado doméstico
  • We didn't have any house help, cooking, cleaning.
  • domestic help
  • hired help
  • full-time help

OK, so if you need some freelance help, there you go.

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Examples

  • But he agreed to hire some help.

  • A possible explanation is that full-time domestic help is more easily available in Singapore.

    Academic text (1992)
  • If business goes on the way it is, we're going to have to take on more help.

  • Pa can use it to hire enough help to make up for it.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Their home was generally run by an elderly house help, whom they both called "Madam" behind her back.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • First it was hired help, and then it was my Aunt Claire.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Restaurants that rely on seasonal help need to be monitored constantly, she notes.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Many restaurants had transient help, so it became routine to offer retraining during the course of the year.

    Academic text (1999)
  • The house was well-staffed, in contrast to the limited help Julian and Vivian managed with at The Terraces.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • She hired a gardener as help to maintain her garden.

Synonyms

assistant
vshelp
833 1.0

A person who helps someone with their work or tasks

is about hired people doing tasks, not only formal workplace support
worker
vshelp
600 1.0

A person employed to do physical or routine jobs

is narrower, focusing on hired assistants rather than any employed person
helper
vshelp
79 1.0

A person who does tasks for others, for example at events

is specifically about hired people for work, especially domestic or manual tasks
auxiliary
vshelp
10 6.0

A person who helps staff or members in an organization

is typically for hired people who assist with domestic or manual work
hired help
vshelp
7 3.0

People who are paid to do house or farm work

is more general and not limited to paid domestic or agricultural labor
domestic help
vshelp
1 2.6

A person paid to clean and cook in a home

is broader and used for any hired worker doing various tasks
kitchen help
vshelp
1 2.5

A person who helps in a restaurant kitchen with preparing food and cleaning

is more general and covers hired assistants outside kitchen tasks
home help
vshelp
  • UK
3.4

A person who helps older or disabled people with housework and shopping at home

is broader and used for hired assistance beyond public elder care
plumber's helper
vshelp
  • US
4.6

A person who carries tools and does basic manual work for a plumber

is broader and applies to hired assistants beyond a single trade
swamper
vshelp
  • Jargon
8.3

A person who does basic physical work to help others, like cleaning or lifting

is broader and covers hired assistants with more varied responsibilities

Antonyms

791 2.7

A person or company that hires people to work for them

Idioms

To feel so annoyed or frustrated that you make a soft unhappy sound

Be unable to stop yourself from bragging about a success

Want food so much that you cannot stop your mouth from filling with saliva

To be unable to stop yourself from staring in a rude or amazed way

To do something kind for a person in trouble

Compounds

44 3.6

To try to improve your life alone using books or courses

7 3.0

People who are paid to do house or farm work

help desk
  • Specialized
3 3.0

A service that gives information and technical help to computer users

A person paid to clean and cook in a home

1 2.5

A person who helps in a restaurant kitchen with preparing food and cleaning

Help given as goods or services instead of money

help vampire
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who always asks others for help but never tries to solve problems alone or help them back

Something that makes food break down in your stomach

3.4

A person who helps older or disabled people with housework and shopping at home

A sign or action that shows you need help in an emergency, like waving arms

How Much Help

the cavalry
  • Informal
2 5.5
reinforcement
108 3.9
backup
84 2.4
aid
799 1.0
help
136 1.0

Surface Forms

help singular
helps plural

Etymology

Help meaning a hired worker comes from the simple idea of a 'helper' and the same root helpan/helfen, so over time 'help' came to mean people paid to assist with work, especially in the home.