avail
to be of use or value to; profit; advantage: All our efforts availed us little in trying to effect a change.
to be of use; have force or efficacy; serve; help: His strength did not avail against the hostile onslaught.
to be of value or profit.
advantage; use; efficacy; effective use in the achievement of a goal or objective: His belated help will be of little or no avail.
avails, Archaic. profits or proceeds.
Idioms about avail
avail oneself of, to use to one's advantage: They availed themselves of the opportunity to hear a free concert.
Origin of avail
1Other words from avail
- a·vail·ing·ly, adverb
- un·a·vailed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use avail in a sentence
Suppose there was always something to do, what avails that to millions who know not how to do that precise something?
Glances at Europe | Horace GreeleyWhat avails the distinction, while the genuine sublime benefits of religion remain the same.
My Ten Years' Imprisonment | Silvio PellicoA coalfield extending 16 m. south-east to Radstock avails much for Bristol manufactures.
Even the preaching of truth avails not, unless the preacher strive for it in his daily life.
The Life of Mazzini | Bolton KingBut reasoning avails little, and the strength of Chopin's love was not put to the test.
Frederick Chopin as a Man and Musician | Frederick Niecks
British Dictionary definitions for avail
/ (əˈveɪl) /
to be of use, advantage, profit, or assistance (to)
avail oneself of to make use of to one's advantage
use or advantage (esp in the phrases of no avail, to little avail)
Origin of avail
1Derived forms of avail
- availingly, adverb
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
Other Idioms and Phrases with avail
In addition to the idiom beginning with avail
- avail oneself of
also see:
- to no avail
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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