Main meanings of aid in English

: aid¹ AID²

aid¹

Pronunciation /eɪd/

See synonyms for aid

Translate aid into Spanish

noun

1mass noun Help, typically of a practical nature.
‘he saw the pilot slumped in his cockpit and went to his aid’
- ‘she walked with the aid of a Zimmer frame’
- ‘SIR - I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the young couple who came to my aid on Friday evening when I was stranded in my car in a flood near Carleton.’
- ‘Two passers-by came to his aid and helped to find the cause of his injury.’
- ‘It is likely the victim was the only person in the carriage because no-one came to his aid or offered him help when the attack was over.’
- ‘Ms Kennedy said the service provided emotional and practical support with the aid of a team of trained volunteers fluent in many languages.’
- ‘He told of how his cousin and her family came to his aid and gratefully helped him in the reconstruction.’
- ‘‘Not one of the boys went to his aid, or thereafter summoned help, or displayed any concern for their hapless victim,’ said Mr Martin.’
- ‘Her family claims staff failed to respond to her desperate cries for help, and believe they only came to her aid when she collapsed from her injuries.’
- ‘Mr Conroy's fishing partner was rescued by two surfers who went to his aid after hearing yells for help, police said.’
- ‘Fortunately two local men came to their aid and Mrs Christie and her mother were pulled to safety before the next waves hit the shoreline.’
- ‘After they left, Fung, hungry and thirsty, shouted for help and other hikers came to his aid.’
- ‘With the help of a nurse who came to their aid, they tried without success to revive him.’
- ‘In many ways it reminded me of how Irish people responded to the great tragedy of famine in my own country of Ethiopia 20 years ago when so many of you came to our aid at a time of such need and difficulty.’
- ‘He managed to hobble to a nearby address but no-one came to his aid until a female motorist found him bleeding heavily.’
- ‘A prolific burglar who targeted vulnerable pensioners has been jailed for a second time after stealing from a ‘Good Samaritan’ who came to his aid.’
- ‘The Hacketstown community quickly came to their aid by establishing an enthusiastic committee who have come up with many novel ideas to help raise funds.’
- ‘About 25 farmers from the district then went to their aid.’
- ‘A passing patrol of some 25 troops from the Afghan National Army came to their aid.’
- ‘Passers-by came to his aid and he was taken to Leeds General Infirmary where his condition was described as ‘serious but stable’.’
- ‘Please can you print a message of thanks to the young lady who came to my aid in Hawes Lane on the morning of Saturday, June 7.’
- ‘But her family, which includes five sisters and her brother, came to her aid when most of them put themselves forward for compatibility testing.’
assistance, support
View synonyms
1. 1.1Financial or material help given to a country or area in need.
  ‘700,000 tons of food aid’
  ‘an aid agency’
  ‘It specializes in bringing food and other material aid to war-torn areas.’
  ‘They also gave food and material aid to as many as 10,269 people to help reconstruct destroyed homes.’
  ‘Eventually, they turned to their church and asked for some financial aid to buy food and basics and got it.’
  ‘He said the World Food Programme was the only organisation supplying food aid to the area and that the community was willing to work with any other organisation.’
  ‘The program guarantees financial aid to low-income students who earn a ‘C’ average or above.’
  ‘Food and other aid to the refugees, living in the area for three years, has been stopped since Jan.1.’
  ‘Therefore the Department of Labor gives financial aid to students with disabilities if they want to further their studies.’
  ‘If you're recently unemployed, you may qualify for financial aid to help you meet requirements for entering a new field.’
  ‘The underfunded UN Relief and Works Agency is being forced to cut off food aid because of security restrictions.’
  ‘The country restricts the movement of foreigners, and groups that distribute aid to alleviate its food shortages are barred from some areas.’
  ‘A meaningful targeted scheme of financial aid to purchase concentrate feed is needed to avoid disaster over the coming winter and spring months, it has been claimed.’
  ‘Most crucially, the military was forced to admit its fleet of helicopters was in disrepair and there was nowhere near the amount of aircraft needed to deliver aid to remote areas cut off by landslides.’
  ‘The Government must consider giving financial aid to rural traditional medicine centres which have been operating in the State since time immemorial.’
  ‘The Wroughton-based appeal has collected and distributed hundreds of palettes of aid to disaster struck areas since the tsunami hit on December 26.’
  ‘It's a difficult environment at the best of times, but with roads cut, delivering aid to needy areas is proving to be a challenge.’
  ‘The federal government should be leading and offering financial aid to the provinces for the purpose of qualifying the skilled people who are already in our midst.’
  ‘The bad weather also blocked roads and grounded helicopters as troops raced against the approaching Himalayan winter to ferry aid to remote areas.’
  ‘In 1998, the Government provided significant financial aid to farmers.’
  ‘Gerson said rescue workers were facing difficulties in getting aid to isolated areas due to the absence of air transportation.’
  ‘To propose that the government of a third world country is not acting fast enough to send aid to certain areas is incredibly unfair.’
  donations, funding, contributions, subsidies, benefits, welfare, gifts, grants, relief, charity, financial assistance, subvention, alms, offerings, handouts, largesse
  View synonyms
2. 1.2count noun A source of help or assistance.
  ‘exercise is an important aid to recovery after heart attacks’
  ‘a teaching aid’
  ‘This allows the instructor to use the pistol as a teaching aid to show students where the sharp edges on their guns need to be relieved.’
  ‘This is an aid to bring more security in the post-Cold War era.’
  ‘Tools and training aids are available to assist your unit to train safety and succeed on the battlefield.’
  ‘Grit is essential in most birds' diets, both as an aid to digestion and as a source of minerals.’
  ‘The council justified its intervention on the basis that it had provided some aids to assist in the care of Mrs Z.’
  ‘Baboo believes that research on retention will prove an effective aid to help colleges and universities do a better job with their minority students.’
  ‘Initially many of us thought these rails were a nuisance and were too high for comfort, but experience has shown that they do make sense and are a real aid to safety and comfort in rough weather.’
  ‘The underlining served as a memory aid to help students identify and retrieve the essential elements in the problem.’
  ‘All the photographic technique is purely an aid to help the photographer get the image you want to show.’
  ‘She finally reached the correct wall, the one beside the oak tree that would serve in concealing her as well as serving as an aid to help her up.’
  ‘He achieved his circumnavigation without any electronic navigation aids or the assistance of modern satellite communication technology.’
  ‘Residual low vision may be assisted with low vision aids and low vision training in activities of daily living.’
  ‘During the Civil War, he was an indispensable aid to his father during the latter's tenure as Minister to England.’
  ‘Providing navigational aids to assist users in finding information in hypertext systems has been an ongoing research problem for well over a decade.’
  ‘The top-of-the-range model has been given sports suspension and equipped with all the electronic aids to assist the wayward driver.’
  ‘A few students reported printing the images and using them instead of the computer assisted aids.’
  ‘Student cooperatives were banned because, although recognized as an aid to poor students, they provided good places to exchange revolutionary opinions and leaflets.’
  ‘Three types of teaching aids, too, are prepared by Prof. Murty to help teachers.’
  ‘Today, it seems, the people of Terence Bay have won back the right to visit their local lighthouse, which the Coast Guard still maintains as an active aid to navigation.’
  ‘This is clearly not an exercise for the short term while there is so much to do but by keeping donors engaged with the affected communities for longer, it could be a powerful aid to longer term reconstruction.’
2 historical A grant of subsidy or tax to a king or queen.
‘In 1678, he spoke in favour of giving an aid to the king, and the following month obtained a commission for raising an independent company of foot, and was appointed governor of Bridlington.’
- ‘An Act for granting a Royal Aid to the King's Majesty, of Twenty-four Hundred Threescore and Seventeen Thousand and Five Hundred Pounds, to be raised, levied, and paid, in the Space of Three Years.’
- ‘In the proceedings of the parliament of 1242, which were duly recorded and which survive as the earliest authorized report of a parliamentary debate, we find the representatives of the nation, after thoroughly discussing the expediency of a foreign war, bold enough to oppose it by refusing an aid to the king to carry it on.’
- ‘It is first mentioned in a record of the ensuing year, when the convent petitioned that they might be excused from contributing an aid to the King, at the time of a threatened invasion, on account of the expenses they had been at in endeavouring to repair their damages.’
- ‘All that he had originally designed to spend on Malta, he would give as an aid to the queen, so that she might prevail over her rebels.’

verb

[with object]

1Help or support (someone or something) in the achievement of something.
‘women were aided in childbirth by midwives’
- ‘research was conducted to aid in making decisions’
- ‘I am sorry for your loss, and hope that you have the emotional, physical and spiritual support you need to aid you and your new baby to a happier outcome.’
- ‘May you and your husband have luck quitting smoking; make use of the myriad of support networks available to aid you in the battle to quit.’
- ‘This they easily achieved as they were aided by popular support.’
- ‘Many books have been written and learning programs begun to aid us in achieving this goal.’
- ‘Pulling himself back up to his feet, Seraphine groaned as he held out a hand to Erian, aiding him in standing as well.’
- ‘Since she's aiding Andrew to stand, she can't reach out for her cigarette case.’
- ‘Idona, stand by to aid me just in case it does appear again.’
- ‘We are expected to obey all these regulations all I ask is we are aided and assisted by the police and Highways Department.’
- ‘It has become an annual fun event which aids charities and draws support from across Greater Manchester.’
- ‘‘Most services offering support to aid recovery are focused on the needs of women and their children,’ she admits.’
- ‘It is looking for projects to support and opportunities to aid family development and address issues relevant to children and young people, such as new safe play areas.’
- ‘Mr Duckworth also revealed that his group would act as a support organisation to aid survivors of any future accident.’
- ‘I owe thanks to the following people who greatly aided me in preparing this article.’
- ‘When Creon kidnaps Antigone, the Chorus prays that Athene will aid King Theseus in bringing her back safely.’
- ‘The three leads are all very good, and a fine supporting cast aids them.’
- ‘He worked there in the DVD department and he put an amazing amount of time and effort into aiding me in my quest.’
- ‘Helping emergency vehicles get through that two-way street could mean aiding someone you know or love.’
- ‘Guess, I was aided a bit by by lady luck too as it looks reasonably the same through all the mentioned browsers.’
- ‘For her, it put a value on her own expertise and aided her in positioning her brand in the market.’
- ‘A help page is all set up to aid you in determining whether your phone is web-enabled - an option you may have never even considered using before.’
help, assist, abet, come to the aid of, give assistance to, lend a hand to, be of service to
View synonyms
1. 1.1Promote or encourage (something)
  ‘diet and exercise aid healthy skin’
  ‘It has been said the butter may reduce the risk of cancer because it contains healthy bacteria which aids digestion and boosts immune response.’
  ‘Healthy teeth mean that the child is able to eat a healthy diet, and aid the growth of the jaw.’
  ‘Fish oil aids memory and promotes mental acuity because it makes nerve-cell membranes more fluid and more reactive to signals.’
  ‘Again, the media bears moral responsibility for promoting discussion that aids justice.’
  ‘Tai Chi Wu Style is a craft that includes gentle stretching and breathing exercises that will aid balance, co-ordination and relax muscles.’
  ‘Kate Morgan, Pembrokeshire County Council's food officer, says a healthy breakfast can aid concentration and mental performance, and provide energy.’
  ‘Researchers believe exercise aids efforts to stop smoking.’
  ‘This is an exercise that has aided many athletes in crucial situations in other sports.’
  ‘A tailored exercise prescription, determined by exercise testing, can aid blood pressure reduction.’
  ‘Finding effective ways to relax, such as devoting time for relaxation, taking yoga classes or fitting in gentle exercise, may aid the chances of conception.’
  ‘A cut-and-paste exercise can greatly aid the student with memory work.’
  ‘A physiotherapist will oversee and monitor all progress and explain knee exercises that will aid recovery.’
  ‘Adding the right types of fats - healthy fats - to your diet can not only aid your fat loss but also help you put on muscle mass.’
  ‘The guests were all kept on special diets to aid their recovery.’
  ‘Investment in roads aids driver safety and facilitates improved industrial and tourism development.’
  ‘Mr Naughton said the facilities to aid independent living in the Dublin region were fairly good but across the rest of the country they were poor.’
  ‘It can also aid depression and boost energy levels.’
  ‘Current evidence support the use of nutritional supplements to aid exercise performance and recovery.’
  ‘It aids hundreds of former footballers, promotes educational and vocational training for a legion about to leave the game and has built a power-base as one of the strongest unions in sport.’
  ‘And doing so will aid traditional culture in several ways.’
  facilitate, promote, encourage, help, speed up, hasten, accelerate, expedite, further, boost, give a boost to, give a lift to, give a push to, spur on, clear the way for, smooth the way for
  View synonyms

Phrases

in aid of

1mainly British In support of; for the purpose of raising money for.
- ‘a charity show in aid of Leukaemia Research’
2British informal Intended to achieve.
- ‘so what was the chicken impression in aid of?’
- ‘what's all this in aid of?’