assists

1. 1
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of assist.

   The intern assists the senior researcher with data collection.

   A trained dog assists its owner in navigating busy streets.

   Note

   Its usual pattern takes a person as object, then with or in for the task: it assists the researcher with data collection, or assists its owner in navigating. Be careful with assists at. That older construction meant being present at an occasion, and it is now archaic. In sport the verb also means making the pass that sets up a score, the action behind the tallied noun.

2. 2
   noun

   Plural of assist.

   He finished the season with more assists than any teammate.

   The coach praised the team's unselfish play after a night full of assists.

   Note

   The plural matters most where assists are counted. The noun can name any helpful act, but the sporting senses are the ones tallied: the decisive pass to whoever scores, or the defensive play that lets a teammate record a putout. Players are credited with assists, lead their team in them, and finish a season with a total. The same spelling is also the verb's present-tense form, as in she assists the surgeon.

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