to no avail

1. Also, of little or no avail. Of no use or advantage, ineffective, as in All his shouting was to no avail; no one could hear him, or The life jacket was of little or no avail. This idiom uses avail in the sense of “advantage” or “assistance,” a usage dating from the mid-1400s. Also see to little purpose.

Example Sentences

He started his search in early October and applied to CVS, Best Buy and a slew of other retailers - to no avail.

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She struggles against the grip of the trolls, but to no avail.

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The ones holding our items throw them to the side to try to get a better grip on solid ground—to no avail.

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I’m running, sliding, and dodging, but to no avail.

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He had searched every one of those sickeningly quaint villages, with their happy yodelers and endless mugs of hot chocolate, but to no avail.

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Related Words

• fruitless 
• hollow 
• impractical 
• ineffective 
• ineffectual 
• insufficient 
• trivial 
• unproductive 
• unprofitable 
• unsuccessful 
• useless 
• vain 
• worthless