avail

noun

/əˈveɪl/

Word OriginMiddle English: from obsolete vail ‘be of use or value’ (apparently on the pattern of pairs such as amount, mount), from Old French valoir, from Latin valere ‘be strong, be of value’.

Idioms

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Idioms

of little/no avail

(formal) of little or no use
- Your ability to argue is of little avail if the facts are wrong.

to little/no avail

(formal) with little or no success
- The doctors tried everything to keep him alive but to no avail.
- They worked hard to win the project but all to no avail.
Topics Difficulty and failurec2

avail

verb

/əˈveɪl/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they avail	/əˈveɪl/ /əˈveɪl/
he / she / it avails	/əˈveɪlz/ /əˈveɪlz/
past simple availed	/əˈveɪld/ /əˈveɪld/
past participle availed	/əˈveɪld/ /əˈveɪld/
-ing form availing	/əˈveɪlɪŋ/ /əˈveɪlɪŋ/

Phrasal Verbs

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[transitive] avail somebody (something) | avail something (formal or old-fashioned) to be helpful or useful to somebody
[transitive, intransitive] (Indian English, non-standard) to make use of something, especially an opportunity or offer
- avail something To avail all these benefits, just register online.
- avail of something Why not avail of our special offers?