AVAIL

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does avail mean? 

• AVAIL (noun)
  The noun AVAIL has 1 sense:

1. a means of serving

  Familiarity information: AVAIL used as a noun is very rare.

• AVAIL (verb)
  The verb AVAIL has 3 senses:

1. use to one's advantage

2. be of use to, be useful to

3. take or use

  Familiarity information: AVAIL used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• AVAIL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A means of serving

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

avail; help; service

Context example:

there's no help for it

Hypernyms ("avail" is a kind of...):

helpfulness (the property of providing useful assistance)

Derivation:

avail (be of use to, be useful to)

• AVAIL (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they avail    ... he / she / it avails   
Past simple: availed   
Past participle: availed   
-ing form: availing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Use to one's advantage

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Context example:

He availed himself of the available resources

Hypernyms (to "avail" is one way to...):

apply; employ; use; utilise; utilize (put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody PP

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be of use to, be useful to

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Context example:

It will avail them to dispose of their booty

Hypernyms (to "avail" is one way to...):

aid; assist; help (give help or assistance; be of service)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

avail (a means of serving)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Take or use

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Synonyms:

avail; help

Context example:

She helped herself to some of the office supplies

Hypernyms (to "avail" is one way to...):

exploit; work (use or manipulate to one's advantage)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

available (obtainable or accessible and ready for use or service)

 Context examples 

The groove ceased to avail me, and I mistrusted myself.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

‘No excuse will avail,’ said Mr. Duncan Ross; ‘neither sickness nor business nor anything else. There you must stay, or you lose your billet.’

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

When James determined to kidnap Lord Saltire, it was of this man’s service that he availed himself.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

His lash was always singing among the dogs, but it was of small avail.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

As we were left to look about us while Mr. Spenlow was fetched, I availed myself of the opportunity.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

‘A Russian nobleman who is now resident in England,’ it runs, ‘would be glad to avail himself of the professional assistance of Dr. Percy Trevelyan.’

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I slept after the prostration of the day, with a stringent and profound slumber which not even the nightmares that wrung me could avail to break.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

“I’m afraid,” said Holmes, smiling, “that all the Queen’s horses and all the Queen’s men cannot avail in this matter.”

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Were ye all as thoughtless of your own souls as the soldier is of his body, ye would be of more avail to the souls of others.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

What does it avail that I now ask thee to pardon me?

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)