abet
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
abet (someone) in
To help someone in an activity, usually an illegal one. If you drove the robber's getaway car, then you abetted him in a crime! Everyone thinks you abetted Connie in starting this rumor. Yeah, I'm her boyfriend, but I didn't abet her in this robbery! Who do you think reported her to the police?
See also: abet
aid and abet
To assist someone, usually in a mischievous or illegal activity. Gary was arrested and charged with aiding and abetting the jewelry thief. I know other kids aided and abetted Paul in egging our house—he's just the only one who got caught. If you drove the getaway car, then you aided and abetted the robber in a crime!
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
abet someone in something
to help someone in some deed; to help someone do something illegal. Surely you do not expect me to abet you in this crime!
See also: abet
aid and abet someone
Cliché to help someone; to incite someone to do something, possibly something that is wrong. (Originally a legal phrase.) He was scolded for aiding and abetting the boys who were fighting.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
aid and abet
FORMALIf someone aids and abets another person, they help or encourage them to do something criminal or wrong. His wife was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for aiding and abetting him. Note: This expression is often used in legal contexts.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
aid and abet
help and encourage someone to do something wrong, especially to commit a crime.Abet comes from an Old French term meaning ‘to encourage a hound to bite’.
1986 Frank Peretti This Present Darkness She strained to think of…any friend who would still aid and abet a fugitive from the law, without questions.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
aid and abet, to
To assist and promote or encourage something or someone. The pairing of these nearly synonymous verbs, always in this order, comes from criminal law, where it denotes helping, facilitating and promoting the commission of a crime. The verbs themselves are quite old, aid dating from about 1400 and abet from about 1300. Although the term still is principally used in relation to criminal actions, it gradually crept into more general speech, as in “The influx of Canada geese on the golf course, aided and abetted by people feeding them . . .”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer