to no avail

and of no avail

Cliché with no effect; unsuccessful. All of my efforts were to no avail. Everything I did to help was of no avail. Nothing worked.

to no avail

without any benefit or result The boy pushed against the door to no avail - something heavy was holding it shut.

Usage notes: sometimes used in the phrase to little avail (having almost no benefit or result): Security forces tried to disperse the crowd, but to little avail.

to no avail

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.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Cosmas	-	Ancient Greek (Latinized)
AdriÀ	-	Catalan
Tupaarnaq	-	Native American, Greenlandic
Neemias	-	Biblical Latin, Biblical Greek
Cesarina	che-sah-REE-nah	Italian
Rinus	-	Dutch