"can't help but" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "can't help but",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "couldn't help but",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "can't<can't,-,couldn't,-> help but"
      },
      "expansion": "can't help but (third-person singular simple present can't help but, no present participle, simple past couldn't help but, no past participle)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "cannot but"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1988 June 10, Jonathan Rosenbaum, “May the Formula Be With You”, in Chicago Reader",
          "text": "Nevertheless, now that his latest fantasy epic has confirmed my nonexpectations, I can't help but wonder why Willow has been getting such a drubbing from the same reviewers who responded to the early Lucas mega-hits with such enthusiasm.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2005 March, Linda Wagner, Faithful to My Heart, West Conshohocken: Infinity Publishing, page 48",
          "text": "“I hate being the youngest and the only gold-star lesbian. It's so cliché. Like some of you, I've thought about giving the other side a try. You really can't help but wonder what it's like.[…]”",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008 February 15, Megan McArdle, “Piracy: a symphony of spontaneous order”, in The Atlantic",
          "text": "There's an old joke that I used to hear occasionally on British television shows: \"It's not theft—it's socialism!\" I couldn't help but think of it repeatedly as I read this paper on self-organizing institutional arrangements among pirates, which bears some disturbing similarities to an hours-long anarcho-capitalist bull session.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010, Harry Hill, Livin' the Dreem: A Year in My Life, Faber & Faber, page 124",
          "text": "'Glasses are so two thousand and late,' he says. 'Is it a deal-breaker?' I ask. 'No, but would you do it as a favour to me?' I couldn't help but be affected by the passion in his voice, so albeit reluctantly I booked an appointment with ...",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2020, Anika Gupta, How to Handle a Crowd: The Art of Creating Healthy and Dynamic Online Communities, Simon and Schuster",
          "text": "So I can't help but think this idea has bled over into society, where both white and nonblack people of color (NBPOC) have bought into it.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2020 April 7, Sophie Gilbert, “The Most-Watched Show in America Is a Moral Failure”, in The Atlantic",
          "text": "The point is virality—content so outlandish that people can’t help but talk about it.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of cannot but."
      ],
      "id": "en-can't_help_but-en-verb-s4bQGoQQ",
      "links": [
        [
          "cannot but",
          "cannot but#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative",
        "no-past-participle",
        "no-present-participle"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "can't help but"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "can't help but",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "couldn't help but",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "can't<can't,-,couldn't,-> help but"
      },
      "expansion": "can't help but (third-person singular simple present can't help but, no present participle, simple past couldn't help but, no past participle)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "cannot but"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1988 June 10, Jonathan Rosenbaum, “May the Formula Be With You”, in Chicago Reader",
          "text": "Nevertheless, now that his latest fantasy epic has confirmed my nonexpectations, I can't help but wonder why Willow has been getting such a drubbing from the same reviewers who responded to the early Lucas mega-hits with such enthusiasm.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2005 March, Linda Wagner, Faithful to My Heart, West Conshohocken: Infinity Publishing, page 48",
          "text": "“I hate being the youngest and the only gold-star lesbian. It's so cliché. Like some of you, I've thought about giving the other side a try. You really can't help but wonder what it's like.[…]”",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008 February 15, Megan McArdle, “Piracy: a symphony of spontaneous order”, in The Atlantic",
          "text": "There's an old joke that I used to hear occasionally on British television shows: \"It's not theft—it's socialism!\" I couldn't help but think of it repeatedly as I read this paper on self-organizing institutional arrangements among pirates, which bears some disturbing similarities to an hours-long anarcho-capitalist bull session.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2010, Harry Hill, Livin' the Dreem: A Year in My Life, Faber & Faber, page 124",
          "text": "'Glasses are so two thousand and late,' he says. 'Is it a deal-breaker?' I ask. 'No, but would you do it as a favour to me?' I couldn't help but be affected by the passion in his voice, so albeit reluctantly I booked an appointment with ...",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2020, Anika Gupta, How to Handle a Crowd: The Art of Creating Healthy and Dynamic Online Communities, Simon and Schuster",
          "text": "So I can't help but think this idea has bled over into society, where both white and nonblack people of color (NBPOC) have bought into it.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2020 April 7, Sophie Gilbert, “The Most-Watched Show in America Is a Moral Failure”, in The Atlantic",
          "text": "The point is virality—content so outlandish that people can’t help but talk about it.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of cannot but."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "cannot but",
          "cannot but#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative",
        "no-past-participle",
        "no-present-participle"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "can't help but"
}