What does 上 mean as in 抱歉我没帮上忙?

Question

I could roughly understand the meaning of the sentence.

Sorry, I didn't help much.

By the simple Chinese-English dictionary, 上 means

up
get on
good
superior

There are tons of meanings by the advanced dictionary. I couldn't figure it out.

Answer 1

You should translate like this:

Sorry 抱歉

I 我

wasn't 没

able 上

to

help 帮忙

Answer 2

上 denotes this sense:

（用在动词后， 表示动作的结果）(Used after a verb to indicate its result) E.g. 穿上外衣; 考上大学

我没帮上忙 means (the result is that) I have been being helpless.. It's not a word for word translation though.

Answer 3

上 functions here as a resultative complement, just like the second character in 做完 or 吃好.

Consider the difference in English between "I have not helped you" and "I have not managed to help you." managed, here, appears with the meaning of "could" or "succeeded". Think of 上 in the same way in this case.

Answer 4

it carries the same meaning as the out in "sorry,I wasnt able to help out"

Out by itself does not mean much, but couple with help, it reinforced the help word