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View synonyms for avail

avail

[ uh-veyl ]

verb (used with object)

  1. to be of use or value to; profit; advantage:

    All our efforts availed us little in trying to effect a change.



verb (used without object)

  1. to be of use; have force or efficacy; serve; help:

    His strength did not avail against the hostile onslaught.

  2. to be of value or profit.

noun

  1. advantage; use; efficacy; effective use in the achievement of a goal or objective:

    His belated help will be of little or no avail.

  2. avails, Archaic. profits or proceeds.

avail

/ əˈveɪl /

verb

  1. to be of use, advantage, profit, or assistance (to)
  2. avail oneself of
    to make use of to one's advantage
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


noun

  1. use or advantage (esp in the phrases of no avail, to little avail )
“Collins 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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Derived Forms

  • aˈvailingly, adverb
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Other Words From

  • a·vailing·ly adverb
  • una·vailed adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of avail1

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English availe, from a- a- 2 + Old French vail-, noun stem of valoir “to be worth,” from Latin valēre “to be strong, be well, be of worth”
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Word History and Origins

Origin of avail1

C13 availen, from vailen, from Old French valoir, from Latin valēre to be strong, prevail
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. avail oneself of, to use to one's advantage:

    They availed themselves of the opportunity to hear a free concert.

More idioms and phrases containing avail

In addition to the idiom beginning with avail , also see to no avail .
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Example Sentences

Over the past month, Fuller reached out to several Nationals super fans on social media in search of the ticket, to no avail.

I have tried to discuss this matter with him, but to no avail.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked people not to travel for Thanksgiving, to avoid juicing infection rates, to little avail.

Several member states reportedly tried to swap the order of speakers to address the lack of women on Day 1, but to no avail.

From Fortune

What some politicians and activists had long sought to do to no avail — place working parents and their child care crisis on the center stage of American politics — the virus has done in a matter of months.

According to the friend, Brinsley rang his ex-girlfriend, an Air Force reservist named Shaneka Thompson, to no avail.

The left had long tried to resist it through a diverse mix of organizations, devoted to different goals, and all to no avail.

Women have been trying to wield Internet shame against men for years now to little avail.

In Germany, sex workers get to avail themselves of the same social-welfare infrastructure as all other German workers.

This woke her husband, who questioned and tried to console her, to no avail.

But such refuge, he knew, could avail him nothing if the bear should scent him out and search for him.

I would gladly avail myself of your offer, but the Residency will be invested in less than an hour.

Age and usage were to be of no avail in bringing this wretched piece of workmanship up to the standard of the average.

Neither kisses, nor words of comfort, nor the promise to return soon, were of any avail.

All these titles would avail but little were they not supported by immense riches.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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