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PlainSpell

aid

UK /eɪd/noun, verb

aid is spelled A-I-D: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 56 times per million words in written English, the 1,822nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “aid vs aide” about 9,900 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, aid means “Help; assistance; succor, relief” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of aid is aids.

How many letters and syllables are in aid?

Letters3: A-I-D
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing56 times per million words; the 1,822nd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Sounds like
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is aid?

Aid appears 56 times per million words in written English, the 1,822nd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce aid?

  • UK /eɪd/

Aid has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-aid.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with aid

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

aid vs aide9,900 G
ade vs aid0 B

Sounds like: aide (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Also written: aide.

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with aid?

6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as aid from its last stressed vowel (/eɪd/, British pronunciation):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: dai.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of aid

  • aids plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • aide
  • aiding participle, present
  • aided participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does aid mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    Help; assistance; succor, relief.

    He came to my aid when I was foundering.

  2. 2

    A helper; an assistant.

  3. 3

    Something which helps; a material source of help.

    Slimming aids include dietary supplements and appetite suppressants.

  4. 4

    UKAn historical subsidy granted to the crown by Parliament for an extraordinary purpose, such as a war effort.

  5. 5

    UKAn exchequer loan.

  6. 6

    A pecuniary tribute paid by a vassal to his feudal lord on special occasions.

  7. 7

    Alternative form of aide (“an aide-de-camp”).

    Suddenly, the general's aid entered the room and walked in a straight line, coming to a halt in front of the desk, standing at attention, waiting for the general to recognize him, allowing the aid to speak.

  8. 8

    The rider's use of hands, legs, voice, etc. to control the horse.

verb

  1. 1

    To provide support to; to further the progress of; to help; to assist.

  2. 2

    To climb with the use of aids such as pitons.

noun

as AID
  1. 1

    Initialism of artificial insemination by donor.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Aid in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchaide (help; succor; assistance; relief), aider (to provide support to; to further the progress…)
GermanHilfe (help; succor; assistance; relief), helfen (to provide support to; to further the progress…), Helfer (a person that promotes or helps in something…), Hilfsmittel (something which helps; a material source of help)
Portugueseajuda, auxílio, socorro (help; succor; assistance; relief), ajudar (to provide support to; to further the progress…), ajudante, auxiliar (a person that promotes or helps in something…)
Spanishayuda, auxilio (help; succor; assistance; relief), ayudante, asistente (a person that promotes or helps in something…), remedio, recurso (something which helps; a material source of help)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does aid come from?

From Middle English aide, eide, ayde, from Old French eide, aide, from aidier, from Latin adiūtō, adiūtāre (“to assist, help”). Cognates include Spanish ayuda, Portuguese ajuda and Italian aiuto.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after aid