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Vinony

aid and abet

  1. to help and encourage someone, perhaps in a dubious or nefarious enterprise
L1321576 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˌeɪd‿n̩ əˈbɛt/

verb

Etymology: From aid (“to provide support to, assist, help”) + and + abet (“to assist or encourage by aid or countenance in crime, incite”).

  1. To assist (someone) in an illegal act as an accessory or accomplice.

    “A bank employee was accused of aiding and abetting the gang of robbers.”

    “In my future letters I shall perhaps take the opportunity to prove to you that the more men there are in a state, the more prosperous its commerce; I shall prove as easily, that as commerce flourishes, men increase; these two things necessarily aid and abet each other.”

  2. To assist someone in (an illegal act) as an accessory or accomplice.

    “Murder itself was not more sternly and certainly punished in the State of Maryland, than that of aiding and abetting the escape of a slave.”

  3. To be an accessory or accomplice to someone in an illegal act.

    “From about April 13 to about May 17, 1962, registrant, during a time when it was undergoing a change in ownership and management, together with or aided and abetted by Smythe, willfully violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 […]”