avail

1 of 2

verb

availed; availing; avails

intransitive verb

: to be of use or advantage : serve
Our best efforts did not avail.

transitive verb

: to produce or result in as a benefit or advantage : gain
His efforts availed him nothing.

avail

2 of 2

noun

: advantage toward attainment of a goal or purpose : use
Their effort was of little/no avail.
Phrases
avail oneself of or less commonly avail of
: to make use of : to take advantage of
They availed themselves of his services.

Examples of avail in a Sentence

Verb In such a Hobbesian world, grand idealistic designs will avail the United States nothing. Nor will a quest for American dominance in the name of the good. Laura Secor, New York Times Book Review, 26 June 2005
Soon middle-class girls were slipping into their starched white shirtwaists, marching into a place of business … and eventually standing up as private secretaries, bank tellers, accountants, and managers. So many, in fact, availed themselves of this new opportunity that by 1900 nearly 75 percent of all clerical workers in America were women (Bliven puts the number, in 1888, at 60,000); and for decades the typist and her machine were both called "typewriters." Arthur Krystal, Harper's, December 2002
One comes away from the book stunned by the remarkable energy and willingness to resist that so many demonstrated but haunted by the recognition of how little that resistance availed. Louis Menand, New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2002
Our best efforts did not avail. all your begging will not avail you in the least Noun It seemed to be the national dish, as it appeared on every menu. It is a spicy pork or veal stew with tomatoes and onions and a little sour cream on top. It was fabulous, and I'm dying to get the recipe. I've spent hours looking for it on the internet to no avail. Linda Walker, Cook's Country, June 1995
In the 14th century the porcelain from China made its way westward along trade routes to Europe's rich and royal. The artisans of Europe tried to duplicate the Chinese formula and process, but to no avail. Hattie Clark, Christian Science Monitor, 3 Aug. 1987
although I appreciate the concern, your help would be of little avail in this situation
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Upperclassmen who haven’t received Narcan training in health class can avail themselves of events like the one on Feb. 28. Isha Trivedi, The Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2024 The city should also avail itself of wealth of wisdom in our community to best inform its policy choices. The San Diego Union-Tribune Staff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Feb. 2024 In a win for artists suing AI art generators, a federal judge found that the companies cannot avail themselves of a First Amendment defense arising under a California statute allowing for the early dismissal of claims intended to chill free speech. Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Feb. 2024 Which prompted me to ask her if she’s availed herself of any dermatologic or surgical treatments. Valerie Monroe, Allure, 8 Feb. 2024 But for shorter domestic travels, some flyers can still avail themselves of 21+ perks. Zach Wichter, USA TODAY, 24 Jan. 2024 Mata has availed the department to perform an independent audit into SJPD’s hiring and backgrounding practices, and random audits of officers’ body-camera videos. Robert Salonga, The Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2024 The movie is most wrenching when the eternal orator finds that his verbal dexterity avails him nothing. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 17 Dec. 2023 But there won’t be much to celebrate if Americans don’t avail themselves to advances in science—particularly, if they don’t get vaccinated. Erin Prater, Fortune Well, 23 Dec. 2023
Noun
Ripa and Cooper next take inventory of Cohen’s perfume stock (with seemingly unpleasant results) while Don’t Be Tardy stars Kim and Kroy Biermann try with no avail to pack Cohen’s famous shot ski. Megan Stein, Peoplemag, 2 Aug. 2023 Want to buy an ad in a Fox Sunday NFL broadcast without having to load up on commercial avails at Tubi? Brian Steinberg, Variety, 10 May 2023 DeSantis takes sharper aim at Trump in Iowa but to little avail Ron DeSantis has stepped up his criticism of Donald Trump in Iowa, but the Florida governor faces questions about how much longer his presidential campaign can last as the state’s Jan. 15 presidential caucuses draw near. Steven Lemongello, Hartford Courant, 15 Jan. 2024 To the same avail, the night’s emcee, Nick Minaj’s claws were a rose hue and gem-dipped as well– adding to the drama of her luxurious veiled moment. Essence, 13 Sep. 2023 Negotiations have been going on for months, and were carried on throughout the holiday recess by a bipartisan group of senators, but so far to no avail. Allison Pecorin, ABC News, 16 Jan. 2024 At times, according to Bloomberg, his father was beside him, making calls on his behalf, to little avail. Sheelah Kolhatkar, The New Yorker, 25 Sep. 2023 Biden has urged Netanyahu and his coalition government to seek consensus instead of pushing ahead with such unpopular measures, but to little avail. Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2023 Democrats on the sidelines have been left waiting, to little avail, for Trump’s GOP rivals to make a case to their voters that the legal problems are politically disqualifying. Reid J. Epstein, BostonGlobe.com, 21 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'avail.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Middle English, Anglo-French availler, probably from a- (from Latin ad-) + valer, valoir to be of worth, from Latin valēre — more at wield

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of avail was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near avail

Cite this Entry

“Avail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/avail. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

avail

1 of 2 verb
: to be of use or help

avail

2 of 2 noun
: help toward reaching a goal
effort of no avail

More from Merriam-Webster on avail

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