English

Verb

avail ‎(third-person singular simple present avails, present participle availing, simple past and past participle availed)

1. (transitive, often reflexive) To turn to the advantage of.

   I availed myself of the opportunity.

2. (transitive) To be of service to.

   Artifices will not avail the sinner in the day of judgment.

3. (transitive) To promote; to assist.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Alexander Pope to this entry?)

4. (intransitive) To be of use or advantage; to answer or serve the purpose; to have strength, force, or efficacy sufficient to accomplish the object.

   The plea in court must avail.

   This scheme will not avail.

   Medicines will not avail to halt the disease.

   • Sir Walter Scott

     Words avail very little with me, young man.

5. (India, Africa, elsewhere proscribed) To provide; to make available.
   • 2004, November 16, “Nik Ogbulie”, in Decongesting the Banking Floors:

     With this initiative, Valucard becomes an open system that is not limited to point of sale (POS) transactions, but now avails cash to its holders in various locations nationwide.

Antonyms

• disavail

Derived terms

• available
• disavail

Related terms

Translations

Noun

avail ‎(plural avails)

1. (obsolete) Benefit; value, profit; advantage toward success. [15^th-19^thc.]
   • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter ij, in Le Morte Darthur, book II:

     I shal take the aduenture sayd Balen that god wille ordeyne me / but the swerd ye shalle not haue at this tyme by the feythe of my body / ye shalle repente hit within short tyme sayd the damoysel/ For I wold haue the swerd more for your auaylle than for myne / for I am passyng heuy for your sake

   • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essayes, London: Edward Blount, OCLC 946730821, III.1:

     hardy Citizens […] sticke not to sacrifice their honours and consciences, as those of old, their lives, for their Countries availe and safety.

   • 1895, Andrew Lang, A Monk of Fife:

     So this friar, unworthy as he was of his holy calling, had me at an avail on every side, nor do I yet see what I could do but obey him, as I did.

2. Effect in achieving a goal or aim; purpose, use (now usually in negative constructions). [from 15^thc.]

   I tried fixing it, to no avail.  Labor, without economy, is of little avail.‎

   • 1879, Richard Jefferies, The Amateur Poacher, chapterII:

     Orion hit a rabbit once; but though sore wounded it got to the bury, and, struggling in, the arrow caught the side of the hole and was drawn out. Indeed, a nail filed sharp is not of much avail as an arrowhead; you must have it barbed, and that was a little beyond our skill.

   • 2014, Paul Doyle, "Southampton hammer eight past hapless Sunderland in barmy encounter", The Guardian, 18 October:

     At half-time, Poyet replaced Wes Brown with Liam Bridcutt in the heart of defence and sent out the rest of the players to atone for their first-half mistakes. To no avail.

3. (now only US) Proceeds; profits from business transactions. [from 15^thc.]
   • Richard Henry Stoddard (1825–1903)

     the avails of their own industry

4. (obsolete, poetic) Effort; striving.
   • 1613, Thomas Campion, “Songs of Mourning”, in Poetical Works (in English) of Thomas Campion, published 1907, page 125:

     And ev'n now, though he breathless lies, his sails / Are struggling with the winds, for our avails / T'explore a passage hid from human tract, / Will fame him in the enterprise or fact.

5. (television, advertising) An advertising slot or package.
   • 1994, Barry L. Sherman, Telecommunications Management: Broadcasting/cable and the New Technologies, ISBN 0070566984, page 353:

     The salesperson at an affiliate TV station might prepare an avail which offers two weeks of spots in early and late news […].

   • 2004, Walter S. Ciciora et al., Modern Cable Television Technology: Video, Voice, and Data Communications, ISBN 1558608281, page 123:

     At an avail, the ad server plays out the MPEG-2 audio/video elementary streams.

6. (US, politics, journalism) A press avail.

   While holding an avail yesterday, the candidate lashed out at critics.‎

7. (Britain, acting) Non-binding notice of availability for work.
8. (oil industry) A readily available stock of oil.
   • 1967, Interstate Compact on Oil and Gas (10th Extension), page 95:

     Total crude oil avails (production plus purchases) of even highly "self-sufficient" refiners are far greater than their reported refinery inputs.

Usage notes

• (success or benefit): Very often encountered in negative phrases, such as of or to no or little avail.

Translations