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

assistant adjective

Synonyms of assistant

• 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

About half of these projects, which included an internal AI assistant to help the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration answer taxpayers’ questions, didn’t see long-term implementation. — Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 30 July 2026

Another way to reinvest in yourself is to move out of the low-value work that a part-time admin or virtual assistant can do. — Micah Logan, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026

Talbott, meanwhile, completed his own Live Nation internship before getting the opportunity to work as a back-of-house assistant on Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s 2025 Grand National Tour. — Los Angeles Times, 29 July 2026

Investors had been looking for evidence that Azure and Copilot, Microsoft's flagship AI assistant, could eventually produce returns as concerns about high AI spending had steadily grown across the industry. — ABC News, 29 July 2026

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