avail

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. v. To be of use or advantage to; help: Nothing could avail the dying patient.
2. v. To be of use, value, or advantage; serve: Halfway measures will no longer avail.
3. n. Use, benefit, or advantage: labored to no avail.
4. idiom. avail (oneself) of To make use of.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. To have value or use; be of service or advantage; give profit: as, wealth avails little to a castaway.
2. To have force or efficacy; serve for a purpose; give aid toward an end: as, his cries availed to bring relief.
3. To take or draw advantage; make use or profit.
4. To be for the advantage of; assist or profit: as, what will skill avail us against numbers?
5. To promote; prosper; assist: said of things.
6. To advantage; profit; give the benefit to: used reflexively, with of: as, he availed himself of the opportunity.
7. n. Advantage, profit, or benefit, in a general sense; also, value or estimation.
8. n. Efficacy for a purpose; advantage to an object or end: now used chiefly in negative phrases, or sentences of negative import: as, of little or no avail; I doubt whether it will be of much avail.
9. n. plural Profits or proceeds: as, the avails of a sale by auction.
10. n. Returns.
11. See avale.

Wiktionary

1. v. transitive To turn to the advantage of
2. v. transitive To be of service to.
3. v. transitive To promote; to assist.
4. v. intransitive To be of use or advantage; to answer or serve the purpose; to have strength, force, or efficacy sufficient to accomplish the object.
5. v. India, Africa To provide.
6. n. obsolete, poetic Effort; striving.
7. n. television, advertising An advertising slot or package.
8. n. US, politics, journalism A press avail.
9. n. UK, acting Non-binding notice of availability for work.
10. n. oil industry A readily available stock of oil.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. v. To turn to the advantage of; to be of service to; to profit; to benefit; to help.
2. v. obsolete To promote; to assist.
3. v. To be of use or advantage; to answer the purpose; to have strength, force, or efficacy sufficient to accomplish the object
4. n. Profit; advantage toward success; benefit; value.
5. n. Proceeds.
6. v. obsolete See avale, v.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. take or use
2. v. be of use to, be useful to
3. n. a means of serving
4. v. use to one's advantage