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avail - What does it mean?

Definition of 'avail'

English

Verb

(en-verb)
  • (transitive|often|reflexive) To turn to the advantage of.
  • I availed myself of the opportunity.
  • To be of service to.
  • Artifices will not avail the sinner in the day of judgment.
  • To promote; to assist.
  • (Alexander Pope)
  • 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.
  • To provide; to make available.
  • * {{quote-news|2004|November 16|Nik Ogbulie|Decongesting the Banking Floors|This Day citation
  • |passage=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

    Noun

    (en-noun)
  • (lb) Benefit; value, profit; advantage toward success.
  • *:
  • *: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
  • *, III.1:
  • *:hardy Citizenssticke not to sacrifice their honours and consciences, as those of old, their lives, for their Countries availe and safety.
  • *{{quote-book|1895|(Andrew Lang)| A Monk of Fife
  • |passage=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.}}
  • Effect in achieving a goal or aim; purpose, use (now usually in negative constructions).
  • :
  • *
  • *: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 , , " 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 .
  • *(Richard Henry Stoddard) (1825–1903)
  • *:the avails of their own industry
  • Effort; striving.
  • *{{quote-book|1613|(Thomas Campion)|chapter=Songs of Mourning||year_published=1907|page=125|title= Poetical Works (in English) of Thomas Campion
  • |passage=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.}}
  • An advertising slot or package.
  • *{{quote-book|1994|Barry L. Sherman|page=353|title= Telecommunications Management: Broadcasting/cable and the New Technologies|isbn=0070566984
  • |passage=The salesperson at an affiliate TV station might prepare an avail which offers two weeks of spots in early and late news
  • *{{quote-book|2004|Walter S. Ciciora et al.|page=123|title= Modern Cable Television Technology: Video, Voice, and Data Communications|isbn=1558608281
  • |passage=At an avail , the ad server plays out the MPEG-2 audio/video elementary streams.}}
  • A press avail.
  • :
  • Non-binding notice of availability for work.
  • (lb) A readily available stock of oil.
  • *{{quote-book|1967|title= Interstate Compact on Oil and Gas (10th Extension)|page=95
  • |passage=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 .