🇺🇸
/əˈveɪld/
🇺🇸
/əˈveɪld/
🇬🇧
/əˈveɪld/
🇬🇧
/əˈveɪld/
Past Tense
availed
Past Participle
availed
Gerund
availing
3rd Person
avails
Availed is the past tense and past participle of 'avail', a formal verb meaning to take practical advantage of something useful or beneficial — especially an opportunity, resource, or service. It's almost always used reflexively ('avail oneself of...') and sounds polished or slightly old-fashioned, like in official letters or academic writing.
She availed herself of the university's career counseling services before graduation.
He never availed himself of the flexible work policy, even though it was available to all staff.
The team fully availed of the new software tools to streamline their workflow.
Despite repeated invitations, he did not avail himself of the mentorship program.
They availed themselves of the early-bird registration discount.
valere
Comes from the Latin verb 'valere', meaning 'to be strong', 'to be worth', or 'to be able'. It conveys core ideas of capability, effectiveness, and utility. Examples include avail, value, valiant, valid, equivalent, ambivalent.
a-
Comes from the Latin prefix 'ad-' (assimilated to 'a-' before 'v'), meaning 'to' or 'toward'. It indicates direction or purpose in action. Examples include avail, avert, avow, await, adhere (via 'ad-').