1 helpmeet | Definition of helpmeet

helpmeet

noun
help·​meet | \ ˈhelp-ˌmēt How to pronounce helpmeet (audio) \

Definition of helpmeet

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Examples of helpmeet in a Sentence

exasperated, the army surgeon requested a helpmeet who wouldn't faint at the sight of blood chose for his helpmeet a woman who could share his passion for rock climbing

Recent Examples on the Web

The book’s female protagonists create their own counterparts, as projections and helpmeets. Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, "In Mark Haddon’s “The Porpoise,” Storytelling Is an Instrument of Violence and Solace," 13 June 2019 Starring a customarily fantastic Laurie Metcalf as Hillary and John Lithgow as her nettlesome helpmeet, Bill, Hnath’s play takes place in a New Hampshire hotel room on the eve of that state’s 2008 Democratic primary. Adam Green, Vogue, "Meet the Playwrights, Actors, and Directors Radically Reshaping Broadway," 13 May 2019 Oh, and also a floating robot designed as a helpmeet for astronauts—scientifically, logistically, and emotionally. Sarah Scoles, WIRED, "The Floating Robot With an IBM Brain Is Headed to Space," 28 June 2018 Infamously, Lerner and Loewe borrowed the ending that was tacked onto the 1939 film without Shaw’s prior approval: the one in which Eliza returns to Higgins’s study as if to become his helpmeet if not his wife. Jesse Green, New York Times, "Review: Whose ‘Fair Lady’? This Time, Eliza’s in Charge," 19 Apr. 2018 How society, law and the courts may treat driverless cars may depend heavily on where the cars fit in the continuum from stretching from dumb machines like toasters to personified pieces of equipment to human-like helpmeets. Michael Hiltzik, latimes.com, "Self-driving car deaths raise the question: Is society ready for us to take our hands off the wheel?," 3 Apr. 2018 Digital helpmeets like Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa and Microsoft’s Cortana are fitted with nonthreatening feminine voices and programmed to respond to sexist comments with cutesy repartee. Amanda Hess, New York Times, "The Rise of the Social Media Fembot," 4 Feb. 2018 The wives of artists in movies and literature tend to be doormats or helpmeets, and their psychic anguish and creative fire rarely move from background to center stage. A.o. Scott, New York Times, "Review: Daniel Day-Lewis Sews Up Another Great Performance in ‘Phantom Thread’," 24 Dec. 2017 And the women remained cardboard silhouettes defined by their relationships to Jobs, with Laurene as a combined muse and helpmeet. The Washington Post, cleveland.com, "'The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs' opera proves tedious - and a triumph," 24 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'helpmeet.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of helpmeet

1673, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for helpmeet

help entry 2 + meet, adjective

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More from Merriam-Webster on helpmeet

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with helpmeet

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for helpmeet