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Test vs Help - What's the difference?

test | help |

As nouns the difference between test and help

is that test is while help is (uncountable) action given to provide assistance; aid.

As a verb help is

to provide assistance to (someone or something).

test

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) ; see terra, thirst.

Noun

(en noun)
  • A cupel or cupelling hearth in which precious metals are melted for trial and refinement.
  • A , trial.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2012, month=March-April
  • , author=Colin Allen , title=Do I See What You See? , volume=100, issue=2, page=168 , magazine=(American Scientist) citation , passage=Numerous experimental tests and other observations have been offered in favor of animal mind reading, and although many scientists are skeptical, others assert that humans are not the only species capable of representing what others do and don’t perceive and know.}}
  • (academia) An examination, given often during the academic term.
  • A session in which a product or piece of equipment is examined under everyday or extreme conditions to evaluate its durability, etc.
  • A Test match.
  • (marine biology) The external calciferous shell, or endoskeleton, of an echinoderm, e.g. sand dollars]] and sea urchins.
  • (botany) Testa; seed coat.
  • Judgment; distinction; discrimination.
  • * Dryden
  • Who would excel, when few can make a test / Betwixt indifferent writing and the best?
    Synonyms
    * (challenge) challenge, trial * (sense) quiz, examination
    Antonyms
    * (challenge) breeze * (sense) recess
    Derived terms
    * acid test * babysitter test * blood test * flame test * inkblot test * litmus test * nose test * Rorschach test * smell test * smoke test * sniff test * stress test * test case * tester * test tube
    Descendants
    * German: (l) * Dutch: (l)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To refine (gold, silver, etc.) in a test or cupel; to subject to cupellation.
  • To .
  • Climbing the mountain tested our stamina.
  • To put to the proof; to prove the truth, genuineness, or quality of by experiment, or by some principle or standard; to try.
  • to test''' the soundness of a principle; to '''test the validity of an argument
  • * Washington
  • Experience is the surest standard by which to test the real tendency of the existing constitution.
  • (academics) To administer or assign an examination, often given during the academic term, to (somebody).
  • To place a product or piece of equipment under everyday and/or extreme conditions and examine it for its durability, etc.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= Charles T. Ambrose
  • , title= Alzheimer’s Disease , volume=101, issue=3, page=200, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems— […]. Such a slow-release device containing angiogenic factors could be placed on the pia mater covering the cerebral cortex and tested in persons with senile dementia in long term studies.}}
  • (copulative) To be shown to be by test.
  • (chemistry) To examine or try, as by the use of some reagent.
  • to test a solution by litmus paper
    Descendants
    * German: (l)

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) tester, from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (obsolete) A witness.
  • * Ld. Berners
  • Prelates and great lords of England, who were for the more surety tests of that deed.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To make a testament, or will.
  • 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.
    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