as in assistants
a person who helps a more skilled person
movie heroes invariably have a trusty sidekick, who often provides comic relief
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Recent Examples of sidekicks
He-Man is assisted by a ragtag assortment of toy-friendly sidekicks known as the Heroic Warriors; Skeletor's stooges are the similarly imaginatively titled the Evil Warriors.
—
Richard Edwards, Space.com, 3 Mar. 2026
Can the Spurs win if the sidekicks aren’t sharpshooters?
—Mike Finger, San Antonio Express-News, 2 Mar. 2026
Joining him are a cavalry of superstar sidekicks, some of whom might be in high school right now.
—Cam Inman, Mercury News, 1 Feb. 2026
Bone-in ham steak flops over the rim of its plate, and the table surface is erased when an entrée’s sidekicks — yeast-fragrant rolls the size of baseballs, a green salad practically obscured by a snow-white dollop of the house dressing — are dropped off.
—Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 17 Jan. 2026
If only there were some way to include bounty hunters, cute sidekicks, starship pilots, aliens, politics, and lightsaber battles between the dark side and the light into one movie, maybe even, a trilogy.
—Richard Newby, HollywoodReporter, 16 Jan. 2026
He will be joined by Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton, who will play Potter’s trusty sidekicks Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, respectively.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 27 Dec. 2025
In the taxonomy of political sidekicks, Navarro, who advises on trade, isn’t a carrier of darkly destructive principles, like Miller.
—Ian Parker, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
At the holiday feast, these dependable and delectable sidekicks show up as wines and spirits.
—Essence, 26 Nov. 2025
Richard Edwards, Space.com, 3 Mar. 2026
Can the Spurs win if the sidekicks aren’t sharpshooters?
—Mike Finger, San Antonio Express-News, 2 Mar. 2026
Joining him are a cavalry of superstar sidekicks, some of whom might be in high school right now.
—Cam Inman, Mercury News, 1 Feb. 2026
Bone-in ham steak flops over the rim of its plate, and the table surface is erased when an entrée’s sidekicks — yeast-fragrant rolls the size of baseballs, a green salad practically obscured by a snow-white dollop of the house dressing — are dropped off.
—Tom Sietsema, Washington Post, 17 Jan. 2026
If only there were some way to include bounty hunters, cute sidekicks, starship pilots, aliens, politics, and lightsaber battles between the dark side and the light into one movie, maybe even, a trilogy.
—Richard Newby, HollywoodReporter, 16 Jan. 2026
He will be joined by Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton, who will play Potter’s trusty sidekicks Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, respectively.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 27 Dec. 2025
In the taxonomy of political sidekicks, Navarro, who advises on trade, isn’t a carrier of darkly destructive principles, like Miller.
—Ian Parker, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
At the holiday feast, these dependable and delectable sidekicks show up as wines and spirits.
—Essence, 26 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sidekicks
Noun
-
Brown recalled LeBron scoring roughly 24 straight points, and when the Pistons called a timeout, one of Brown’s assistants suggested the head coach take control of a huddle LeBron had in command.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
16 May 2026
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The Steelers also hired a number of former Green Bay assistants, including offensive line coach James Campen, who has a strong relationship with Rodgers.—
Mike DeFabo,
New York Times,
16 May 2026
Noun
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Particularly when the trip involves the president, his closest aides, and reporters with access to the White House and Air Force One.—
Rob Crilly,
The Washington Examiner,
15 May 2026
-
Trump embarked on Air Force One for the big meeting with a coterie of aides, family members and business world titans, including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Tesla and SpaceX’s Elon Musk.—
Aamer Madhani,
Los Angeles Times,
13 May 2026
Noun
-
Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets construction apprentices during a visit to London South Bank Technical College on May 12, 2026 in London, England.—
Frank Andrews,
CBS News,
12 May 2026
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Arthur Bryant’s and Gates Bar-B-Q, whose origins can be traced back to Henry Perry through his apprentices decades ago.—
Chris Higgins,
Kansas City Star,
4 May 2026
Noun
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This pervasive tendency to lean into the performance advantages of modern powertrains and driver aids is sending the wrong message, IIHS argues, which may actually contribute to aggressive driving and, ultimately, to more-frequent crashes and speeding infractions.—
Byron Hurd,
The Drive,
14 May 2026
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For people who use hearing aids, though, that process becomes a lot harder.—
Jon Hamilton,
NPR,
14 May 2026
Noun
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The deputies then turned off the body camera microphones, according to court records.—
Richard Winton,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2026
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After the Kia exited the freeway at Douglas Boulevard in Roseville, deputies deployed a spike strip, Igoe said.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sidekicks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sidekicks. Accessed 19 May. 2026.
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