assistant

noun

as·​sis·​tant ə-ˈsi-stənt 

1

: a person who assists someone : helper

also : a person holding an assistantship

2

: a device or product that provides assistance

software assistants

personal digital assistant

see pda entry 1

assistant adjective

Synonyms

• aide
• apprentice
• deputy
• aid
• adjutant
• sidekick

Examples of assistant in a Sentence

an assistant to the college president

an assistant to the store manager

a wealthy executive who has a personal assistant

Recent Examples on the Web

Antonio, Miss Joan, and Yuchen show up to be the assistants to Jesus, Veejay, and Ethan, respectively, and then everyone gets to work. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025

Here’s my Friday piece with lots of nuggets from Dolphins assistant coaches, including when the team does not want Tyreek Hill to wave his hand to come out of the game. —Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 26 Sep. 2025

According to Nelson's personnel file that was obtained by The Enquirer, he was promoted in 2014 by then-Prosecutor Joe Deters to assistant chief of the municipal court division. —Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer, 26 Sep. 2025

One of the people Laura has been working on is Evelyn’s assistant, Rabbit (Tattiawna Jones). —Keith Langston, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English assistent, borrowed from Anglo-French assistant, assistent, noun derivative of assistant, assistent, adjective, "assisting, helpful," from present participle of assister "to help, aid" — more at assist entry 1

Note: In the case of both this word and assistance Modern English has chosen the French form with -a- in the suffix rather than Latin -e-.

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing assistant

• assistant professor
• personal digital assistant
• physician assistant
• physician's assistant
• sales assistant
• teaching assistant

Rhymes for assistant

• consistent
• existent
• insistent
• persistent
• resistant
• subsistent
• coexistent
• equidistant
• inconsistent
• nonexistent
• preexistent
• distant

Kids Definition

assistant

noun

as·​sis·​tant ə-ˈsis-tənt 

: a person who assists another : helper

assistant adjective