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Word a Day

avail

verb · /əˈveɪl/ · Level 2 · Intermediate

What does avail mean?

avail (verb): use to one's advantage.

Definition: Princeton WordNet 3.1.

How do you use avail in a sentence?

How do you pronounce avail?

/əˈveɪl/ (IPA, American English). The app reads every word aloud.

Where does avail come from?

From Middle English availen (“to be of use”), from Old French a (“to”) + vail from valoir (“to be worth”), from Latin valere (“to be worthy, strong”).

Etymology: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Test yourself: do you know “avail”?

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What does “avail” mean?

begin to be; turn into

Not quite: that's what become means.

to inspect; to examine

Not quite: that's what check means.

use to one's advantage

Right! That's what “avail” means.

to occur or take place

Not quite: that's what happen means.

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