How to spell helpless

hear ithelp·less/'hɛlplɪs/adjectivePrefixes and work

What it means: Unable to defend or take care of oneself.

In a sentence: The baby bird was helpless until it learned to fly.

The part people get wrong

Watch for double s. Often misspelled as helpess or helplesss.

Same family: helpful, help, helper, helplessness, unhelpful. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: Helpless comes from the Old English word 'help' plus the suffix '-less,' which means 'without.' So its literal meaning is 'without help,' and English uses this same pattern in many adjectives like 'hopeless' and 'careless.'

Try spelling it

You will hear the word and a sentence. Type it and press Enter. Then four more words from the same level, so you know where you stand.

Words like this

fearless · painless · careless

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