vail

¹ American  

[veyl] / veɪl /

verb (used with object)

1. to let sink; lower.

2. Archaic. to take off or doff (one's hat), as in respect or submission.

---

vail ² American  

[veyl] / veɪl /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to be of use or profit to someone; avail.

---

noun

1. a tip; gratuity.

vail ³ American  

[veyl] / veɪl /

noun

1. a veil.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to veil.

vail ¹ British  

/ veɪl /

verb

1. to lower (something, such as a weapon), esp as a sign of deference or submission

2. to remove (the hat, cap, etc) as a mark of respect or meekness

---

vail ² British  

/ veɪl /

noun

1. an archaic word for avail

---

vail ³ British  

/ veɪl /

noun

1. an archaic spelling of veil

---

Etymology

Origin of vail¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English valen, vaile “to subside, sink,” shortened variant of avalen, awalen, availen (now obsolete), from Middle French avaler “to move down,” derived from the phrase a val “down” (literally, ”to the valley”), equivalent to a “to” (from Latin ad ) + val vale )

Origin of vail²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English vailen, vaille, valen, shortened variant of avail

Origin of vail³

First recorded in 1350–1400

Example Sentences

“This marks the first month in which the national debt has exceeded GDP since the pandemic,” Vail Hartman, strategist at BMO Capital Markets writes.

From Barron's • May 5, 2026

Kelly Vail, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, said both cases remain on “security hold via court order initiated by the” Los Angeles Police Department.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026

Any eventual calming of tensions “won’t be sufficient to return energy prices to prewar levels,” said BMO Capital Markets strategists Ian Lyngen, Vail Hartman and Delaney Choi.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 24, 2026

Vail Resorts fell 1% after the ski-resort operator cut its guidance for its current fiscal year, citing the lowest snowfall levels External link in more than 30 years at its resorts in Colorado and Utah.

From Barron's • Mar. 10, 2026

In The Century for April 1888, is a most interesting article, entitled "The American Inventors of the Telegraph, with Special Reference to the Services of Alfred Vail".

From Authors and Writers Associated with Morristown With a Chapter on Historic Morristown by Colles, Julia Keese