avail

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Related to avail: to no avail

a·vail

(ə-vāl′)

v. a·vailed, a·vail·ing, a·vails

v.tr.

To be of use or advantage to; help: Nothing could avail the dying patient.

v.intr.

To be of use, value, or advantage; serve: Halfway measures will no longer avail.

Use, benefit, or advantage: labored to no avail.

Idiom:

avail (oneself) of

To make use of.

[Middle English availen : a-, intensive pref. (from Latin ad-; see ad-) + Old French valoir, vail-, to be worth (from Latin valēre, to be strong; see wal- in Indo-European roots).]

a·vail′ing·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

avail

(əˈveɪl)

1. to be of use, advantage, profit, or assistance (to)

2. avail oneself of to make use of to one's advantage

use or advantage (esp in the phrases of no avail, to little avail)

[C13 availen, from vailen, from Old French valoir, from Latin valēre to be strong, prevail]

aˈvailingly adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

a•vail

(əˈveɪl)

v.t.

1. to be of use, advantage, or value to; profit: All our efforts availed us little.

v.i.

2. to be of use; have force or efficacy; serve; help: Nothing you do will avail.

3. to be of value or profit.

4. effective use in the achievement of a goal or objective; advantage; use: His help was of no avail.

5. avails, Archaic. profits or proceeds.

Idioms:

avail oneself of, to use to one's advantage; make use of.

[1250–1300; Middle English availe=a- a-² + vaile < Old French vail-, s. of valoir < Latin valēre to be of worth]

a•vail′ing•ly, adv.

avail

Past participle: availed
Gerund: availing

Imperative
avail
avail

Present
I avail
you avail
he/she/it avails
we avail
you avail
they avail

Preterite
I availed
you availed
he/she/it availed
we availed
you availed
they availed

Present Continuous
I am availing
you are availing
he/she/it is availing
we are availing
you are availing
they are availing

Present Perfect
I have availed
you have availed
he/she/it has availed
we have availed
you have availed
they have availed

Past Continuous
I was availing
you were availing
he/she/it was availing
we were availing
you were availing
they were availing

Past Perfect
I had availed
you had availed
he/she/it had availed
we had availed
you had availed
they had availed

Future
I will avail
you will avail
he/she/it will avail
we will avail
you will avail
they will avail

Future Perfect
I will have availed
you will have availed
he/she/it will have availed
we will have availed
you will have availed
they will have availed

Future Continuous
I will be availing
you will be availing
he/she/it will be availing
we will be availing
you will be availing
they will be availing

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been availing
you have been availing
he/she/it has been availing
we have been availing
you have been availing
they have been availing

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been availing
you will have been availing
he/she/it will have been availing
we will have been availing
you will have been availing
they will have been availing

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been availing
you had been availing
he/she/it had been availing
we had been availing
you had been availing
they had been availing

Conditional
I would avail
you would avail
he/she/it would avail
we would avail
you would avail
they would avail

Past Conditional
I would have availed
you would have availed
he/she/it would have availed
we would have availed
you would have availed
they would have availed

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	avail - a means of serving; "of no avail"; "there's no help for it" help, service helpfulness - the property of providing useful assistance
Verb	1.	avail - use to one's advantage; "He availed himself of the available resources" apply, employ, use, utilise, utilize - put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose; "use your head!"; "we only use Spanish at home"; "I can't use this tool"; "Apply a magnetic field here"; "This thinking was applied to many projects"; "How do you utilize this tool?"; "I apply this rule to get good results"; "use the plastic bags to store the food"; "He doesn't know how to use a computer"
	2.	avail - be of use to, be useful to; "It will avail them to dispose of their booty" aid, assist, help - give help or assistance; be of service; "Everyone helped out during the earthquake"; "Can you help me carry this table?"; "She never helps around the house"
	3.	avail - take or use; "She helped herself to some of the office supplies" help exploit, work - use or manipulate to one's advantage; "He exploit the new taxation system"; "She knows how to work the system"; "he works his parents for sympathy"

avail

noun

1. benefit, use, help, good, service, aid, profit, advantage, purpose, assistance, utility, effectiveness, mileage (informal), usefulness, efficacy His efforts were to no avail.

avail yourself of something make use of, use, employ, exploit, take advantage of, profit from, make the most of, utilize, have recourse to, turn to account Guests should feel at liberty to avail themselves of your facilities.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

avail

verb

To be an advantage to:

advantage, benefit, profit, serve.

Archaic: boot.

Idiom: stand someone in good stead.

noun

1. The quality of being suitable or adaptable to an end:

account, advantage, benefit, profit, use, usefulness, utility.

2. Something beneficial:

advantage, benefit, blessing, boon, favor, gain, profit.

Translations

إفادَه، نَفْع، جَدوى

bez výsledkuk ničemu

nytte

Erfolg nutzlos

ayudar

auttaahyödyttäähyötytulot

aider opérer

gagn; gagnslaus

approfittare inutile inutilmente senza profitto servire

perniek

derīgiveltīgi

avantaj fayda kâr yarar

無效

avail

[əˈveɪl] (liter)

A. N it is of no avail → es inútil
to be of little avail → ser de poco provecho
of what avail is it to ...? → ¿de qué sirve ... + infin ?
to no avail → en vano

B. VT → valer
to avail o.s. of → aprovechar(se de), valerse de

C. VI it avails nothing to + INFIN → de nada sirve + infin

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

avail

[əˈveɪl]

vt
to avail o.s. of sth [+ offer, opportunity, service] → user de qch, profiter de qch

n
to no avail, of no avail → vain(e)
His efforts were to no avail → Ses efforts furent vains.
to little avail → sans grand résultat

avail

vr to avail oneself of something → von etw Gebrauch machen; to avail oneself of the opportunity of doing something → die Gelegenheit wahrnehmen or nutzen, etw zu tun

vi (form) → helfen; nothing could avail against their superior strength → gegen ihre Überlegenheit war nichts auszurichten

n of no avail → erfolglos, ohne Erfolg, vergeblich; of little avail → wenig erfolgreich, mit wenig or geringem Erfolg; his advice was/his pleas were of no/little avail → seine Ratschläge/Bitten haben nicht(s)/wenig gefruchtet; to no avail → vergebens, vergeblich; to little avail → ohne großen Erfolg; of what avail is it to …? (liter) → was nützt es, zu …?; and to what avail? (liter) → und zu welchem Behuf? (old form)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

avail

[əˈveɪl]

1. n of no avail → inutile
to no avail → invano, inutilmente

2. vt to avail o.s. of (opportunity) → servirsi di, approfittare or approfittarsi di; (rights) → (av)valersi di

avail

(əˈveil) : of no avail *to no avail

of no use or effect. He tried to revive her but to no avail; His efforts were of no avail.

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

AS a preface is the only place where an author can with propriety explain a purpose or apologize for shortcomings, I venture to avail myself of the privilege to make a statement for the benefit of my readers.

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This again either does not happen, or, if it does, it will not be for your security, because that deliverance is of no avail which does not depend upon yourself; those only are reliable, certain, and durable that depend on yourself and your valour.

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We had nothing, and we must seek a chance where something besides money would avail us.

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You will avail yourself of every opportunity of informing us of your position and progress, and at the expiration of your leave of absence will join your proper station.

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Though I may pray that it reaches the haunts of civilized man, my better judgment tells me that it will never be perused by other eyes than mine, and that even though it should, it would be too late to avail me.

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The first is, genius, without a full vein of which no study, says Horace, can avail us.

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Of course, I might avail myself of the cover of night; but, alas!

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We returned a suitable answer to this affectionate Note and after thanking her for her kind invitation assured her that we would certainly avail ourselves of it, whenever we might have no other place to go to.

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His sister, too, is, I hope, convinced how little the ungenerous representations of anyone to the disadvantage of another will avail when opposed by the immediate influence of intellect and manner.

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The bird complained to the dog of this bare-faced robbery, but nothing he said was of any avail, for the dog answered that he found false credentials on the sausage, and that was the reason his life had been forfeited.

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He has hitherto declined to avail himself of my assistance.

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Bright condescended to avail himself of my literary experience by constituting me editor of the "Wonder-Book." As he had no reason to complain of the reception of that erudite work by the public, he was now disposed to retain me in a similar position with respect to the present volume, which he entitled TANGLEWOOD TALES.