avail
(redirected from availing)Also found in: Thesaurus, Legal, Idioms.
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.
n.
Idiom: Use, benefit, or advantage: labored to no avail.
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)vb
1. to be of use, advantage, profit, or assistance (to)
2. avail oneself of to make use of to one's advantage
n
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.
n. 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.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
avail
Past participle: availed
Gerund: availing
| Imperative |
|---|
| avail |
| avail |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. | avail - a means of serving; "of no avail"; "there's no help for it" 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" | |
| 3. | avail - take or use; "She helped herself to some of the office supplies" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
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
verbnoun
1. The quality of being suitable or adaptable to an end:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
إفادَه، نَفْع، جَدوى
bez výsledkuk ničemu
nytte
auttaahyödyttäähyötytulot
gagn; gagnslaus
perniek
derīgiveltīgi
avail
[əˈveɪl] (liter)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
to avail o.s. of sth [+ offer, opportunity, service] → user de qch, profiter de qch
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
avail
2vr 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]2. vt to avail o.s. of (opportunity) → servirsi di, approfittare or approfittarsi di; (rights) → (av)valersi di
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
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.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.