a·vail

noun

/əˈveɪl/

Word OriginMiddle English: from obsolete vail ‘be of use or value’ (apparently on the pattern of pairs such as amount, mount), from Old French valoir, from Latin valere ‘be strong, be of value’.

Idioms

of little/no avail

(formal) of little or no use没有什么用处；没有用
- Your ability to argue is of little avail if the facts are wrong.如果论据是错的，你的辩才也就没有什么用了。

to little/no avail

(formal) with little or no success没有什么效果；不成功
- The doctors tried everything to keep him alive but to no avail.医生千方百计想使他活下来，但无济于事。
- They worked hard to win the project but all to no avail.他们为赢得这个项目付出了很大的努力，但毫无结果。
Topics Difficulty and failurec2

a·vail

verb

/əˈveɪl/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they avail	/əˈveɪl/ /əˈveɪl/
he / she / it avails	/əˈveɪlz/ /əˈveɪlz/
past simple availed	/əˈveɪld/ /əˈveɪld/
past participle availed	/əˈveɪld/ /əˈveɪld/
-ing form availing	/əˈveɪlɪŋ/ /əˈveɪlɪŋ/

Phrasal Verbs

[transitive] avail somebody (something) | avail something (formal or old-fashioned) to be helpful or useful to somebody有帮助；有益；有用
[transitive, intransitive] (Indian English) to make use of something, especially an opportunity or offer利用（尤指机会或提议）
- avail something To avail all these benefits, just register online.要想得到所有这些好处，就在线注册吧。
- avail of something Why not avail of our special offers?为什么不利用我们的特别优惠呢？