aids

1. 1
   noun · AIDSuncountableacronym

   Acronym of acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

   Without treatment, HIV infection can progress to AIDS over several years.

   Opportunistic infections are a constant danger for people with AIDS.

   Note

   The disease and the virus are different things: HIV is the virus that causes AIDS, so people speak of living with HIV and of developing AIDS. As an acronym it is said as one word, not letter by letter, and as an uncountable noun it takes a singular verb and no article.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of aid.

   Her presentation relied on charts, maps, and other visual aids.

   A good rider gives the aids so quietly that the horse seems to move on its own.

   Note

   The plural belongs to the countable meanings of aid: devices such as hearing aids and visual aids, the aids a rider gives a horse, and the aids Parliament granted the crown. Aid in the sense of help or relief usually stays singular, as in foreign aid. In capitals the same letters spell the name of the disease, so the capitals keep them apart.

3. 3
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of aid.

   The foundation aids refugees in finding housing and work.

   Fiber aids digestion by keeping food moving through the gut.

   Note

   Like the base form, it usually takes a direct object, and when the help is toward doing something, in and an -ing verb follow: the foundation aids refugees in finding housing. Climbers have their own use, for getting up rock with pitons and other gear bearing their weight rather than relying on holds alone.

Showing meanings only. Show all 4