Auxiliary Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Auxiliary can be used in a wide range of capacities in English to describe a person or thing that assists another. A fire department may bring in auxiliary ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut auxiliary adjective SaveWord aux·​il·​ia·​ry |\ȯg-ˈzil-yə-rē ,-ˈzil-rē,-ˈzi-lə- \ Definitionofauxiliary (Entry1of2) 1a :offeringorprovidinghelp b :functioninginasubsidiarycapacity anauxiliarybranchofthestateuniversity 2 ofaverb :accompanyinganotherverbandtypicallyexpressingperson,number,mood,ortense In"Iwillgo,"theword"will"isanauxiliaryverb. 3a :supplementary atelescopewithitsauxiliaryapparatus b :constitutingareserve anauxiliarypowerplantanauxiliarypoliceforce 4 ofaboat :equippedwithsailsandasupplementaryinboardengine anauxiliarysloop auxiliary noun pluralauxiliaries Definitionofauxiliary (Entry2of2) 1a :anauxiliaryperson,group,ordevice specifically :amemberofaforeignforceservinganationatwar b :aRomanCatholictitularbishopassistingadiocesanbishopandnothavingtherightofsuccession —calledalso auxiliarybishop 2 :asailingboatorshipequippedwithasupplementaryinboardengine 3 grammar :anauxiliaryverb Synonyms&Antonyms Didyouknow? MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutauxiliary Synonyms&Antonymsforauxiliary Synonyms:Adjective accessorial, accessory, appurtenant, peripheral, supplemental, supplementary Antonyms:Adjective chief, main, principal VisittheThesaurusforMore  Didyouknow? AdjectiveAuxiliarycanbeusedinawiderangeofcapacitiesinEnglishtodescribeapersonorthingthatassistsanother.Afiredepartmentmaybringinauxiliaryunits,forexample,tobattleatoughblaze,orasailboatmaybeequippedwithauxiliaryenginestosupplypropulsionwhenthewinddisappears.Ingrammar,anauxiliaryverbassistsanother(main)verbtoexpressperson,number,mood,ortense,ashavein"Theyhavebeeninformed."TheLatinsourceofauxiliaryisauxilium,meaning"help." ExamplesofauxiliaryinaSentence Adjective Travelershavealsobeengripingaboutalackofair-conditioningwhileplanesareonthetarmac—evenafterdelaysstretchforhours.Airlinesblametheproblemonabreakdownofaplane'sauxiliarypowerunit. —DarrenEverson,WallStreetJournal,8Aug.2007 However,onMarch1,1896,ItalianforcesunderwentastunningdefeatatAdwa,wheretheyfoughtagainstthewarriorsoftheAbyssinianemperor,Menelik.SomefivethousandItaliantroopsandtwothousandnativeauxiliarytroopshadbeenkilledorcaptured,andthecolonyhadbeenlost. —MirellaTenderinietal.,TheDukeoftheAbruzzi,1997 Therotund6'1",235-poundobjectoftheiraffectionshasn'tplayedadayofmajorleaguebaseball,hedressesintheauxiliarylockerroom,andheisn'tevenlistedonBoston's40-manroster.ButafteraresplendentsummerlastyearatTripleAPawtucketandawinterofpanegyricsfromagiddyBostonpress,firstbasemanMauriceSamuel(Mo)Vaughn,23,hasarrivedasa"real"rookiewhoeveryoneinRedSox-landhopesistherealthing. —NicholasDawidoff,SportsIllustrated,1Apr.1991 asailboatwithanauxiliaryengine theauditoriumhasanauxiliarycoolingsystemusedonlyonparticularlyswelteringdays Noun In1944Forrestalalsobeganaprogramofsendingblackenlistedmentoserveinalimitednumberoffleetauxiliaries.Thesewerestillnotwarships,buttheywereseagoingvesselsandclosertothefightingNavythanthesmallharbor-defensecraftandharborauxiliariesthathadinitiallybeenopentoblackcrews. —TheGoldenThirteen,1993 Romancavalrywaspoorlydeveloped;theyreliedonwings,calledalae,ofhorsemensuppliedbytheirauxiliaries.ThefavoriteRomanbattleformationwasofatriplelineofcohortswithalaesweepingtheflanks. —KennethP.Czech,MHQ:TheQuarterlyJournalofMilitaryHistory,Autumn1992 RecentExamplesontheWeb:Adjective AndsophomoreguardCelesteTaylorprovidedsomeauxiliarystarpowerduringtheteam’sruntotheEliteEight,averaging13.8points,7.5rebounds,2.3assistsand2.3stealsacrossthosefourgames. — NickMoyle,SanAntonioExpress-News,9Nov.2021 Prototypesarecominginthenextyeartorunferries,atfirstwithgreenhydrogenasauxiliarypower,alongsidediesel. — WashingtonPost,9Nov.2021 Ifthebatteryrunslow,thenanauxiliaryUSB-Cto3.5mmcableisincludedtomakesurethedevicecancontinuetobeusedwhileit’sbeingrecharged. — MarkSparrow,Forbes,29Oct.2021 RichmondHeightspoliceauxiliaryofficerswilldecoratetwopolicecruisersforHalloweenanddrivedownthecity’sstreetsfrom5-8p.m.Halloweenevening,Oct.31. — cleveland,27Oct.2021 TheSullivans,frigatesHMSKentandHMSRichmond,andfleetauxiliaryRFAFortVictoria. — KyleMizokami,PopularMechanics,25Oct.2021 NoneseemthetypetopushMountcastleofffirstbaseanytimesoon,thoughthere’sachancetheOriolescangetsomecheapauxiliarypowerfromanyofthesesourcesinthecomingyears. — JonMeoli,baltimoresun.com,21Oct.2021 The12-voltheatedblanketplugsrightintotheauxiliarypoweroutletinyourcartoprovideinstantheat. — NicolNatale,PEOPLE.com,19Oct.2021 Anauxiliarylightcanbeseenmountedonthehood,andaJeepPerformancePartsbadgesuggeststhis4xewillbedeckedoutwithoff-roadgoodies. — CalebMiller,CarandDriver,11Oct.2021 RecentExamplesontheWeb:Noun Monetarydonationsarealsowelcomeandcardswillbepurchasedbytheauxiliaryinyourname. — LindaMcintosh,SanDiegoUnion-Tribune,25Oct.2021 RecktenwaldalsoservedbothintheCivilAirPatrol,acivilianauxiliaryoftheU.S.AirForceandintheArmy,earninganhonorabledischargeasaprivatein1964andlaterservingsixyearswiththeNationalGuard. — BobGoldsborough,chicagotribune.com,23Aug.2021 Herfather,anengineer,servedinanauxiliarytotheRoyalAirForceduringWorldWarII,landinginNormandyshortlyaftertheD-Dayinvasion. — EmilyLanger,BostonGlobe.com,24Apr.2021 Herfather,anengineer,servedinanauxiliarytotheRoyalAirForceduringWorldWarII,landinginNormandyshortlyaftertheD-Dayinvasion. — EmilyLanger,BostonGlobe.com,24Apr.2021 NoactionhascurrentlybeentakenagainstSuchan,astheauxiliaryisaseparateentityfromtheHudsonLegionpost. — CameronFields,cleveland,4June2021 Herfather,anengineer,servedinanauxiliarytotheRoyalAirForceduringWorldWarII,landinginNormandyshortlyaftertheD-Dayinvasion. — EmilyLanger,BostonGlobe.com,24Apr.2021 TheHammitswereeachnominatedforthemedal,whichisthehighestdecorationawardedtotheauxiliary’smembers. — MonicaD.Spencer,TheArizonaRepublic,21May2021 Herfather,anengineer,servedinanauxiliarytotheRoyalAirForceduringWorldWarII,landinginNormandyshortlyaftertheD-Dayinvasion. — EmilyLanger,BostonGlobe.com,24Apr.2021 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'auxiliary.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore FirstKnownUseofauxiliary Adjective 15thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1aNoun 1567,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1a HistoryandEtymologyforauxiliary Adjective Latinauxiliaris,fromauxiliumhelp;akintoLatinaugēretoincrease—moreateke Noun derivativeofauxiliaryentry1 LearnMoreAboutauxiliary Shareauxiliary PosttheDefinitionofauxiliarytoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofauxiliaryonTwitter TimeTravelerforauxiliary Thefirstknownuseofauxiliarywas inthe15thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury ListentoOurPodcastAboutauxiliary ThememusicbyJoshuaStamper©2006NewJerusalemMusic/ASCAP GetWordoftheDaydeliveredtoyourinbox! SignUp DictionaryEntriesNearauxiliary auxiliarist auxiliary auxiliarycell SeeMoreNearbyEntries  PhrasesRelatedtoauxiliary auxiliaryverb modalauxiliaryverb Statisticsforauxiliary LastUpdated 24Nov2021 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Auxiliary.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/auxiliary.Accessed28Nov.2021. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforauxiliary auxiliary adjective EnglishLanguageLearnersDefinitionofauxiliary (Entry1of2) :availabletoprovideextrahelp,power,etc.,whenitisneeded auxiliary noun EnglishLanguageLearnersDefinitionofauxiliary (Entry2of2) :agroupthatprovideshelporassistance :auxiliaryverb SeethefulldefinitionforauxiliaryintheEnglishLanguageLearnersDictionary auxiliary adjective aux·​il·​ia·​ry |\ȯg-ˈzi-lyə-rē ,-ˈzi-lə-rē,-ˈzil-rē\ KidsDefinitionofauxiliary (Entry1of2) :availabletoprovidesomethingextra anauxiliaryengine auxiliary noun pluralauxiliaries KidsDefinitionofauxiliary (Entry2of2) 1 :agroupthatprovidesassistance 2 :helpingverb auxiliary adjective aux·​il·​ia·​ry |\ȯg-ˈzil-yə-rē ,-ˈzil-(ə-)rē \ Medical Definitionofauxiliary (Entry1of2) :servingtosupplementorassist auxiliaryspringsinadentalappliance auxiliary noun Medical Definitionofauxiliary (Entry2of2) 1 :onewhoassistsorservesanotherpersonespeciallyindentistry 2 :anorganizationthatassists(asbydonationsorvolunteerservices)theworkespeciallyofahospital MorefromMerriam-Websteronauxiliary Nglish:TranslationofauxiliaryforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofauxiliaryforArabicSpeakers Britannica.com:Encyclopediaarticleaboutauxiliary WORDOFTHEDAY menorah SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary FarmIdiomsQuiz Whatdoes'poke'refertointheexpression'piginapoke'? stable bag mudpit stateofdifficulty Canyouspellthese10commonlymisspelledwords? TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! Merriam-Websterunabridged WordsatPlay “InVinoVeritas”andOtherLatinPhrasestoLiveBy Top10LatinPhrases What'sthePastTenseof'Green-light'? Istheprojectgreen-lighted?Orgreenlit? 10WordsforthePost-MealWalk Justtogetthebloodflowing 10PhrasesfromShakespeare Wherethe"Green-EyedMonster"Comesfrom AsktheEditors 'Everyday'vs.'EveryDay' Asimpletricktokeepthemseparate WhatIs'SemanticBleaching'? How'literally'canmean"figuratively" Literally Howtouseawordthat(literally)drivessomepe... IsSingular'They'aBetterChoice? Theawkwardcaseof'hisorher' WordGames NameThoseHerbsandSpices Howmanydoyouknow? Takethequiz NameThatEmotion It'sawholemood Takethequiz SpellIt Canyouspellthese10commonlymisspelledwords? Takethequiz