aid

plural aids · alternative aide · alternative obsolete ayde

1. uncountableHelp; assistance; succor, relief.

   He came to my aid when I was foundering.

   3 more examples

   An unconstitutional method of obtaining aid.

   1827, Henry Hallam, The Constitutional History of England from the Accession of Henry VII. to the Death of George II. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Murray, […], →OCLC

   “[…] it is not fair of you to bring against mankind double weapons ! Dangerous enough you are as woman alone, without bringing to your aid those gifts of mind suited to problems which men have been accustomed to arrogate to themselves.”

   1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC

   Musk said he checked with Trump “a few times” and Trump confirmed he wants to shut down the agency, which dispenses billions in humanitarian aid and development funding annually.

   2025 February 2, Jennifer Hansler and Alex Marquardt, “Senior USAID security officials put on leave after attempting to refuse Musk’s DOGE access to agency systems”, in CNN, archived from the original on 03 Mar 2025

2. countableA helper; an assistant.

   It is not good that man should bee alone, let vs make vnto him an aide like to himselfe.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Tobit 8:6

3. countableSomething which helps; a material source of help.

   Slimming aids include dietary supplements and appetite suppressants.

   2 more examples

   The human is so poorly designed for aquatic adventures that he cannot even see in the water without artificial aids.

   1983, Richard Ellis, The Book of Sharks, Knopf, →ISBN, page 16

   The ability of a segment of a glass sphere to magnify whatever is placed before it was known around the year 1000, when the spherical segment was called a reading stone[…]. Scribes, illuminators, and scholars held such stones directly over manuscript pages as an aid in seeing what was being written, drawn, or read.

   2013 September-October, Henry Petroski, “The Evolution of Eyeglasses”, in American Scientist

4. UKcountableAn historical subsidy granted to the crown by Parliament for an extraordinary purpose, such as a war effort.

   In this parliament was granted to the king for defence against the Scots two aids and two quindecims, the which two aids did not extend over two quindecims.

   2019, Julia Boffey, Henry VII's London in the Great Chronicle, page 71

5. UKcountableAn exchequer loan.
6. countablelawA pecuniary tribute paid by a vassal to his feudal lord on special occasions.
7. alternativecountableAlternative form of aide (“an aide-de-camp”).

   Suddenly, the general's aid entered the room and walked in a straight line, coming to a halt in front of the desk, standing at attention, waiting for the general to recognize him, allowing the aid to speak.

   Robert Michael Wills, They Came from the Drain (page 206)

8. countablein pluralhobbiesThe rider's use of hands, legs, voice, etc. to control the horse.

present singular third person aids · participle present aiding · participle past aided · past aided

1. transitiveTo provide support to; to further the progress of; to help; to assist.

   You speedy helpers […] Appear and aid me in this enterprise.

   1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]

   1 more example

   Smith is aided in his quest by an elfin, time-jumping alien with psychic powers played by another Coen brothers veteran, A Serious Man star Michael Stuhlbarg.

   2012 May 24, Nathan Rabin, “Film: Reviews: Men In Black 3”, in The Onion AV Club, archived from the original on 18 Aug 2012

2. climbingTo climb with the use of aids such as pitons.

   Rather than climb into a bottomless off-width crack, we aided an 80-foot A2 to A3 crack to the top of a pedestal. By very tenuous face climbing, we gained entry to the crack, which we followed to a tree beneath the big chimney.

   1979, American Alpine Journal, page 193

1. abbreviationinitialismuncountableInitialism of artificial insemination by donor.

   Here is the first book to thoroughly look at topics such as the social and personal aspects of lesbian motherhood; the implications of AID; and how children feel about growing up with lesbian mothers.

   1982 February 6, “Book News From Alyson Publications (advertisement)”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 28, page 21

1. abbreviationacronymAcronym of Agency for International Development.

   The first such title, according to a review by Christopher Sagers, a law professor at Cleveland–Marshall College of Law, was the 1950 Act for International Development, or AID.

   2022 November 12, Matteo Wong, “How Did America End Up With the Z.O.M.B.I.E. Act?”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 12 Nov 2022