Word.ws English Dictionary

can't help

can't help verb: to be unable to avoid a situation, or stop something from happening.

Verb

can't help (third-person singular simple present can't help, no present participle, simple past couldn't help, no past participle)

  1. (idiomatic, no-past-participle, no-present-participle) To be unable to avoid a situation, or stop something from happening.
    • I can't help crying whenever I see Romeo and Juliet.

Forms of can't help

third-person singular presentcan't help
pastcouldn't help
alternative formcannot help

Questions about can't help

What does can't help mean?
Can't help means to be unable to avoid a situation, or stop something from happening.
What part of speech is can't help?
Can't help is a verb.
What is the past tense of can't help?
The past tense of can't help is couldn't help.

Words near can't help in the dictionary

  1. can't carry a tune in a bucket
  2. can't complain
  3. can't do right for doing wrong
  4. can't even
  5. can't get enough
  6. can't help
  7. can't help but
  8. can't lie
  9. can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em
  10. can't live with them and can't live without them
  11. can't live with them, can't live without them

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: can't help (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-can't help.ogg.

Cite this entry: “can't help.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/can%27t_help. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.