Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

helper

/ˈhɛlpɚ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.41 in modern English

Syllables
helper
IPA
/ˈhɛlpɚ/
11
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

One who helps; an aide; assistant; auxiliary.

noun

That which helps; anything serving to assist.

noun

A person who does cleaning and cooking in a family home, or in a market; domestic employee.

noun

A locomotive that assists a train, usually on steep gradients.

American usage

name

A city in Carbon County, Utah, United States, which got its name from the practice of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad of attaching helper engines to trains there.

name

A surname; variant of Halpern or Helfer.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English helpere, from Old English *helpere, from Proto-West Germanic *helpārī (“helper”), equivalent to help + -er. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hälper (“helper”), West Frisian helper (“helper”), Dutch helper (“helper”), German Low German Helper (“helper”), German Helfer (“helper”), Danish hjælper (“helper”), Swedish hjälpare (“helper”), Icelandic hjálpar (“helper”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: helpere, *helpere, *helpārī

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈhɛlpɚ/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Synonyms

Questions

How do you pronounce helper?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈhɛlpɚ/.
What does helper mean?
One who helps; an aide; assistant; auxiliary.
Where does helper come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce helper

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “helper”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈhɛlpɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “helper”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “helper” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.