outside help

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   assistance from people who are not part of your own group, company, or family.

   Grammar: Uncountable: use it without 'a' or a plural, as in 'We need outside help.'

   Patterns

   • get outside help
   • need outside help
   • bring in outside help
   • without outside help

   The team tried to fix the problem alone, but in the end they had to bring in outside help.

   She managed the whole project without any outside help.

   Small charities often rely on outside help to keep running.

2. 2noununcountable

   advice or support from an independent person or organization not involved in a situation.

   Grammar: Also uncountable; often used when an impartial view is wanted, as in 'seek outside help'.

   Patterns

   • seek outside help
   • call in outside help
   • accept outside help

   When the two sides could not agree, they called in outside help to settle the dispute.

   The school sought outside help to review its safety rules.

Common combinations

bring in outside help

They brought in outside help to train the new staff.

need outside help

If the leak gets worse, we'll need outside help.

without outside help

He rebuilt the engine without outside help.

seek outside help

The family decided to seek outside help for the debt problem.

rely on outside help

The shelter relies on outside help from local businesses.

Synonyms and how they differ

external assistance

More formal and common in official writing; 'outside help' is the everyday spoken choice.

support

Broader and can come from inside or outside your group, while 'outside help' stresses that the help comes from outsiders.

backup

Suggests extra people or resources ready to step in, not necessarily from outside the group.

Opposites

Word family

outside adjective

coming from or belonging to another group.

helper noun

a person who helps.

helpful adjective

giving useful assistance.

Commonly confused: outside help or outside worker?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “outside help”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words