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to give support or aid to; help:
Please assist him in moving the furniture.
to be associated with as an or helper.
to give aid or help.
to be present, as at a meeting or ceremony.
Sports.

Baseball. a play that helps to put out a batter or base runner.
Basketball, Ice Hockey. a play that helps a teammate in gaining a goal.
the official credit scored for such plays.

a helpful act:
She finished her homework without an assist from her father.
Machinery. an electrical, hydraulic, or mechanical means of increasing power, efficiency, or ease of use:
a luxury automobile equipped with assists for brakes, steering, windows, and seat adjustment.
Contemporary Examples

He was praised for being physically fit, for assisting in training canine officers, and for helping out citizens in need.
James Peters, the Scottsdale Cop Involved in Six Justifiable Homicides Terry Greene Sterling September 24, 2012

The article also suggested that aid to those areas is assisting ISIS in its state-building ambitions.
Why Humanitarians Talk to ISIS Joshua Hersh October 23, 2014

Rosenbaum contended that Ortega is incapable of appreciating her situation and assisting in her own defense.
‘Killer Nanny’ Case: What the Krims Didn’t Know About Yoselyn Ortega Michael Daly June 25, 2013

Everybody involved in assisting the Malaysians has been very tight-lipped about what is going on.
Why Is Malaysia Hiding Its Report on MH370? Clive Irving April 27, 2014

He said Anwar and others in the Pakistani-American community in Connecticut have gone “above and beyond” in assisting the bureau.
Did the Bomber Act Alone? Philip Shenon May 6, 2010

Historical Examples

We seem to be assisting at some of those combats a steccato chiuso wherein Sixtus IV.
Renaissance in Italy Vol. 3 John Addington Symonds

He finished packing and, after assisting his master to dress, was dismissed for the night.
Jack O’ Judgment Edgar Wallace

assisting at the ten o’clock Missa, Cantata Parochialis was always a source of devotion and unusual interest.
The Greater Love George T. McCarthy

“She is perfectly safe,” replied Frank, assisting her to a seat.
The Boat Club Oliver Optic

Your officers, and those aiding and assisting them, ought to be protected and supported.
Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856, Vol. I (of 16) Thomas Hart Benton

verb
to give help or support to (a person, cause, etc); aid
to work or act as an assistant or subordinate to (another)
(hockey:Ice) to help (a team-mate) to score, as by passing the puck
(archaic) (intransitive) foll by at. to be present; attend
noun
(US & Canadian) the act of helping; aid; assistance
(baseball) the act of a player who throws or deflects a batted ball in such a way that a team is enabled to put out an opponent
(sport)

a pass or other action by a player which enables another player to score a goal
a credit given for such an action

v.

early 15c., from Middle French assister “to stand by, help, put, place, assist” (14c.), from Latin assistere “stand by, take a stand near, attend,” from ad- “to” (see ad-) + sistere “take a stand, cause to stand,” from PIE *siste-, reduplicated form of root *sta- “to stand” (see stet). Related: Assisted; assisting. Medical assisted suicide attested from 1884.
n.

1570s, “an act of assistance,” from assist (v.). In the sporting sense attested 1877 in baseball, 1925 in ice hockey.