as in steering
to operate or control the course of
a treacherous route for any weekend sailor just learning to helm his vessel
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Recent Examples of helming
Howard went on to star in another beloved TV series, Happy Days, but eventually pivoted to directing, helming movies like Splash, Apollo 13, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and A Beautiful Mind.
—
Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2025
Wan left the director’s chair after helming The Conjuring 2 in 2016 but stayed on as a producer for the multiple follow-ups and spinoffs that followed.
—Emily Palmer Heller, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Jonze ultimately got pulled away by his Where the Wild Things adaptation, and helming duties fell to Kaufman for what would be his directorial debut.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2025
Scott Coffey, who starred in Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, is helming the movie starring Archie Madekwe and Havana Rose Liu, who can both currently be seen in Mubi psychological thriller Lurker.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2025
Film Festival saw female filmmakers helming more than half of the feature selections.
—Clifford Coonan, Variety, 4 Sep. 2025
Now that Swift and Kelce are engaged, and with the Chiefs once again among the favorites to reach the big game, the prospect of Swift helming the halftime show might be too big to pass up.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2025
Before founding and helming Swan AI Studios, Das served as CEO of OptumLabs, the R&D arm of UnitedHealth Group, previously spending eight years at Amazon and 12 years at Barnes & Noble, respectively.
—Alexandra Harrell, Sourcing Journal, 29 Aug. 2025
Lately, she's been working behind the scenes, making her feature directorial debut with Pitch Perfect 2 (2015) before helming Charlie's Angels (2019) and Cocaine Bear (2023).
—Allison Degrushe Published, EW.com, 23 Aug. 2025
Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2025
Wan left the director’s chair after helming The Conjuring 2 in 2016 but stayed on as a producer for the multiple follow-ups and spinoffs that followed.
—Emily Palmer Heller, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Jonze ultimately got pulled away by his Where the Wild Things adaptation, and helming duties fell to Kaufman for what would be his directorial debut.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2025
Scott Coffey, who starred in Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, is helming the movie starring Archie Madekwe and Havana Rose Liu, who can both currently be seen in Mubi psychological thriller Lurker.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2025
Film Festival saw female filmmakers helming more than half of the feature selections.
—Clifford Coonan, Variety, 4 Sep. 2025
Now that Swift and Kelce are engaged, and with the Chiefs once again among the favorites to reach the big game, the prospect of Swift helming the halftime show might be too big to pass up.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2025
Before founding and helming Swan AI Studios, Das served as CEO of OptumLabs, the R&D arm of UnitedHealth Group, previously spending eight years at Amazon and 12 years at Barnes & Noble, respectively.
—Alexandra Harrell, Sourcing Journal, 29 Aug. 2025
Lately, she's been working behind the scenes, making her feature directorial debut with Pitch Perfect 2 (2015) before helming Charlie's Angels (2019) and Cocaine Bear (2023).
—Allison Degrushe Published, EW.com, 23 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for helming
Verb
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Despite tuition costs skyrocketing, student debt at unsustainable levels, unstable white-collar job prospects and the real threat of AI disruption, families keep steering kids toward college.—
Mark C. Perna,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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Macron now faces the task of steering France out of its financial morass.—
Saskya Vandoorne,
CNN Money,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The hearing was the third in as many years in the halls of Congress since fiery testimony in July 2023 reignited public fascination in UFOs – not to mention the possibility that aliens are piloting them.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
10 Sep. 2025
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According to the Advocate, the IRS is piloting a program to assist taxpayers without appointments at select TAC locations.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Helming.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/helming. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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