What does "avail" mean?
Avail: To promote; to assist. [Obs.] Pope. To avail one's self of, to make use of; take advantage of. Then shall they seek to avail themselves of names. Milton. I have availed myself of the very first opportunity. Dickens.
Additional senses
- 2.To be of use or advantage; to answer the purpose; to have strength, force, or efficacy sufficient to accomplish the object; as, the plea in bar must avail, that is, be sufficient to defeat the suit; this scheme will not avail; medicines will not avail to check the disease. "What signs avail " Milton. Words avail very little with me, young man. Sir W. Scott.
- 3.Profit; advantage toward success; benefit; value; as, labor, without economy, is of little avail. The avail of a deathbed repentance. Jer. Taylor.
- 4.pl. Proceeds; as, the avails of a sale by auction. The avails of their own industry. Stoddard.
- 5.See Avale, v. [Obs.] Spenser.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00