# assistant

Pronunciation: say "uh-SIS-tuhnt" /əˈsɪstənt/

## Noun

1. A person who helps someone else, especially with their work, duties, or responsibilities.
   - Simple: A person who helps someone with their work or daily tasks.
   - _The manager relied on her assistant to organize the weekly schedule._
   - _He worked as an assistant for several years before being promoted._
3. A software tool that provides help in completing a task, such as a wizard that guides the user through a series of steps.
   - Simple: A computer program that helps you do a task, such as one that guides you step by step.
   - _The installation assistant detected the device and configured it automatically._
   - _Voice assistants can set timers, answer questions, and control smart-home devices._
4. A shop worker employed to serve customers and complete sales; a retail clerk. *(British)*
   - Simple: A worker in a shop who helps customers and sells things.
   - _The sales assistant rang up our purchases and wrapped the gift._
   - _Several assistants were restocking shelves before the shop opened._

## Adjective

2. Helping or supporting in a secondary role, often ranking below a more senior person or working alongside a main part.
   - Simple: Helping someone or something, often in a job that ranks below someone else's.
   - _She accepted an assistant position in the research department._
   - _As assistant manager, she ran the store on weekends while the manager handled ordering and payroll._

## Noun

5. A person who is present at an event; a bystander or witness rather than a participant. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A person who is there to watch when something happens.

## Origin

The word came through Middle English assistent from Middle French assistant, from the verb assister. By surface analysis it breaks down into assist plus the suffix -ant.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/assistant (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).