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nurse's aide

nurse's aide

7 2.9
A person who helps nurses with simple patient care like feeding or washing
  • noun
  • /ˈnɜrsɪz eɪd/
  • US
translation icon : auxiliar de enfermería
  • The nurse's aide prepared the patient's medication and assisted with daily activities.
  • a male nurse's aide
  • works as a nurse's aide

Examples

  • Mom worked as a nurse's aide for a few years, but mostly was a homemaker.

    Blog text (15)
  • A nurse's aide was wheeling her toward the front desk to be released.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • I'm a fully qualified nurse's aide.

  • She is a nurse's aide, you know, low pay and all that.

  • The duties of the nurse's aides are most visible on the day shift in the heavy-care wing.

    Academic text (1994)
  • I buzz for Sheila, my favorite, a tall young nurse's aide with the grace of a gazelle.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • The nurse's aide, personal care worker, or homemaker often has great responsibilities without commensurate authority.

    Academic text (1994)
  • "Outside her room, a nurse's aide pushed a jiggling cart of food trays down the corridor.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The dominant staff of long-term-care institutions are nurse's aides, who are supervised by nurses.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Mary passed the time chatting with the nurse's aide, who knitted socks from wool she'd spun herself.

    Fiction book (1998)

Synonyms

aide
vsnurse's aide
  • Formal
365 3.5

A person who helps someone in a job, for example a teacher or politician

is limited to helping with basic patient care tasks rather than general assistance
orderly
vsnurse's aide
15 4.5

A hospital worker who helps with tasks like moving patients and cleaning

helps with direct patient care tasks rather than general nonmedical duties
nursing aide
vsnurse's aide
  • US
1 3.2

A person who helps nurses with basic patient care tasks

has identical meaning but uses a different common phrasing

How Trained

registered nurse
  • Specialized
19 2.8
licensed practical nurse
  • Specialized
1 3.5
nurse's aide
  • US
7 2.9
home help
  • UK
3.4

Surface Forms

nurse's aide singular
nurse's aides plural

Morphology

nurse's + aide

The possessive 'nurse's' (belonging to a nurse) combined with 'aide' (an assistant) directly yields the meaning 'an assistant who helps a nurse'. This composition follows a straightforward possessive + agent noun pattern common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Nurse's aide shows the simple image of an aide, a 'helper', working with a nurse to do small patient tasks like washing, feeding, or helping someone get out of bed. So, it means 'a person who helps a nurse with basic patient care, often with little formal training'.