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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Perry’s personal assistant, his friend, and another doctor all agreed to plead guilty last year in exchange for their cooperation as the government sought to make their case against larger targets, Plasencia and Sangha. Andrew Dalton, Chicago Tribune, 23 July 2025 Meanwhile, GitHub Copilot evolved from a code assistant into a true AI coding agent—capable of cloning repos, fixing bugs, adding features, and documenting code autonomously. Sandy Carter, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025 Jeremy has worked as a camera operator for weddings and as a production assistant. Sydni Ellis, People.com, 23 July 2025 Joe Hubbard ’s administrative assistant was fired from her position on March 28, according to court documents. Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 23 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for assistant

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of assistant was in the 15th century

Cite this Entry

“Assistant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assistant. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

assistant

noun
: a person who assists another : helper
assistant adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on assistant

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