auxiliary
additional; supplementary; reserve: an auxiliary police force.
used as a substitute or reserve in case of need: The hospital has an auxiliary power system in case of a blackout.
(of a boat) having an engine that can be used to supplement the sails: an auxiliary yawl.
giving support; serving as an aid; helpful: The mind and emotions are auxiliary to each other. Passion is auxiliary to art.
a person or thing that gives aid of any kind; helper.
an organization allied with, but subsidiary to, a main body of restricted membership, especially one composed of members' relatives: The men's club and the ladies' auxiliary were merged into one organization.
auxiliaries, foreign troops in the service of a nation at war.
Navy. a naval vessel designed for other than combat purposes, as a tug, supply ship, or transport.
Nautical. a sailing vessel carrying an auxiliary propulsion engine or engines.
Origin of auxiliary
1Other words for auxiliary
Words Nearby auxiliary
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use auxiliary in a sentence
We retooled music, which sounds sort of small and auxiliary, but I think we figured out a way to help the audience.
‘Michael J. Fox Show’ Creator: We’re Not Canceled…Yet | Kevin Fallon | February 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTNone of this will be easily accomplished, and America has only an auxiliary role.
General Monet operated in the north against the rebels with Spanish and native auxiliary forces.
The Philippine Islands | John ForemanThe stars were auxiliary lights, and had all been specially, and at the same time, created for the good of man.
God and my Neighbour | Robert BlatchfordIn Preston we have three churches, besides an auxiliary chapel, wherein priests of the Jesuit order labour.
Our Churches and Chapels | Atticus
She behaved nobly, but with her small auxiliary steam power she could scarcely hold her own.
The British Expedition to the Crimea | William Howard RussellFor a very long period the schools in connection with St. Mary's have formed an excellent auxiliary of the church.
Our Churches and Chapels | Atticus
British Dictionary definitions for auxiliary
/ (ɔːɡˈzɪljərɪ, -ˈzɪlə-) /
secondary or supplementary
supporting
nautical (of a sailing vessel) having an engine: an auxiliary sloop
a person or thing that supports or supplements; subordinate or assistant
nautical
a sailing vessel with an engine
the engine of such a vessel
navy a vessel such as a tug, hospital ship, etc, not used for combat
Origin of auxiliary
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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