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to no avail

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Idioms and Phrases

Also, of little or no avail . Of no use or advantage, ineffective, as in All his shouting was to no avail; no one could hear him , or The life jacket was of little or no avail . This idiom uses avail in the sense of “advantage” or “assistance,” a usage dating from the mid-1400s. Also see to little purpose .

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

So, too, could the round of rejections he got after trying to shop around six demos to no avail, but despite the elements putting up a fierce battle, Adebimpe prevailed.

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The stylist’s daughter found his bloody body, called 911 and tried desperately to save him — to no avail.

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Juric treated the technical area as optional, spending more time out of it than in, often crouching down, repeatedly shouting instructions but all to no avail as the Saints were relegated to the Championship.

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When Silvanna arrived at the hospital, medical staff assumed the lifesaving measures to no avail, and she was pronounced dead, according to the medical examiner.

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Everton centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite was convinced it should have been flagged offside, immediately putting his arms in the air and baying for a free-kick to no avail.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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