avail

1 of 2

verb

ə-ˈvāl How to pronounce avail (audio)
availed; availing; avails
Synonyms of availnext

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.

Synonyms

Verb

Noun

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

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
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
This Kafkaesque saga began late Friday, when President Donald Trump quietly signed an order availing himself of a wartime authority to carry out the mass deportations. — Philip Elliott, TIME, 17 Mar. 2025 The offer is valid only on the new flavors and purchases between March 11 and March 20 and customers have until March 23 to avail the deal, according to the rules on the website. — Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY, 11 Mar. 2025
Noun
Dahl suggested avenues for investigation, to little avail. — Ronan Farrow, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2025 To little avail, as Tesla stock dropped and mobs have set fire to cars in dealer lots. — Paul Bedard, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 22 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for avail

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

Phrases Containing avail

Rhymes for avail

See All Rhymes for avail

Browse Nearby Words

avahi
avail
availability
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Avail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/avail. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.

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Kids Definition

avail

1 of 2 verb
ə-ˈvā(ə)l How to pronounce avail (audio)
: 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

Nglish: Translation of avail for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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