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

The Athletic reported last month head of recruitment Harvey Bussell is set to leave for National Women’s Soccer League side Utah Royals and analyst Lawrence Shamieh will return to Tottenham Hotspur, reunited with former United assistant and now new Spurs head coach Martin Ho. —Charlotte Harpur, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2025

That summer, Mike and Steven toured MU’s football facilities with former MU assistant coach Andy Hill, who introduced the Bedoskys to a defensive assistant. —Quentin Corpuel, Kansas City Star, 6 Sep. 2025

The natural language processing is now based on Alexa, not Cerence's tech, and there's a cartoon visualization for the personal assistant that looks a bit like a ninja, or perhaps an alien. —Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 5 Sep. 2025

In lieu of a portfolio, Winters handed the assistant his driver’s license. —Nate Jones, Vulture, 5 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