Help vs Effort - What's the difference?

As nouns the difference between help and effort

is that help is (uncountable) action given to provide assistance; aid while effort is the work involved in performing an activity; exertion.

As verbs the difference between help and effort

is that help is to provide assistance to (someone or something) while effort is (uncommon|intransitive) to make an effort.

help

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl), from (etyl) .

Noun

(en-noun)

(uncountable) Action given to provide assistance; aid.

I need some help with my homework.

(usually, uncountable) Something or someone which provides assistance with a task.

He was a great help to me when I was moving house.

I've printed out a list of math helps .

Documentation provided with computer software, etc. and accessed using the computer.

I can't find anything in the help about rotating an image.

(usually, uncountable) One or more people employed to help in the maintenance of a house or the operation of a farm or enterprise.

The help is coming round this morning to clean.

Most of the hired help is seasonal, for the harvest.

(uncountable, euphemistic) Correction of deficits, as by psychological counseling or medication or social support or remedial training.

His suicide attempts were a cry for help .

He really needs help in handling customer complaints.

''"He's a real road-rager." / "Yup, he really needs help , maybe anger management."

Usage notes

The sense "people employed to help in the maintenance of a house" is usually an uncountable mass noun. A countable form - "a hired help''", "''two hired helps " - is attested, but now less common.

Quotations

(English Citations of "help")

Synonyms

* (action given to provide assistance) aid, assistance * (person or persons who provide assistance) * (person employed to help in the maintenance of a house)

Derived terms

* cry for help * help desk * helpful * helpless * helpline * helply * helpmate * helpmeet * helpsome * home help * self-help

Etymology 2

From (etyl) helpen, from (etyl) . Cognate with (etyl) .

Verb

To provide assistance to (someone or something).

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=76, magazine=(The Economist)

, title= Snakes and ladders , passage=Risk is everywhere.

To contribute in some way to.

To provide assistance.

* {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)

, chapter=19 citation , passage=As soon as Julia returned with a constable, Timothy, who was on the point of exhaustion, prepared to give over to him gratefully. The newcomer turned out to be a powerful youngster, fully trained and eager to help , and he stripped off his tunic at once.}}

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-29, volume=407, issue=8842, page=72-3, magazine=(The Economist)

, title= A punch in the gut , passage=Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.}}

To avoid; to prevent; to refrain from; to restrain (oneself). Usually used in nonassertive contexts with can .

Usage notes

* Use 3 is often used in the imperative mood as a call for assistance. * In uses 1, 2 and 3, this is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . It can also take the bare infinitive with no change in meaning. * In use 4, can't help is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing) or, with but, the bare infinitive. * For more information, see

Synonyms

* (provide assistance to) aid, assist, come to the aid of, help out * (contribute in some way to) contribute to * (provide assistance) assist

Derived terms

* a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down * can't help * helper * helping * help oneself * help out

Statistics

* English control verbs English phrasebook 1000 English basic words ----

effort

English

Noun

(en noun)

The work involved in performing an activity; exertion.

* , chapter=23

, title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=The slightest effort made the patient cough. He would stand leaning on a stick and holding a hand to his side, and when the paroxysm had passed it left him shaking.}}

* {{quote-news, year=2011, date=June 22, author=Press Association, work=The Guardian

, title= Manchester United offer Park Ji-sung a new two-year contract , passage=The 30-year-old South Korean, who joined United in 2005, retired from international duty after last season's Asian Cup in an effort to prolong his club}}

* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=(Henry Petroski)

, title= Geothermal Energy , volume=101, issue=4, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame.}}

An endeavour.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2012-03, author=William E. Carter, Merri Sue Carter

, volume=100, issue=2, page=87, magazine=(American Scientist) , title= The British Longitude Act Reconsidered , passage=But was it responsible governance to pass the Longitude Act without other efforts to protect British seamen? Or might it have been subterfuge—a disingenuous attempt to shift attention away from the realities of their life at sea.}}

A force acting on a body in the direction of its motion.

(Rankine)

Usage notes

* Adjectives often used with "effort": conscious, good, poor, etc.

Synonyms

Derived terms

* best efforts * centre of effort * effort distance * effortless * make an effort

Verb

(en verb)

(uncommon) To make an effort.

(obsolete) To stimulate.

* Fuller

He efforted his spirits.

Statistics

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