Idiom idiom
in vain
Meaning
Without success or a result; ending in failure.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“I tried to fix the broken watch, but it was in vain.”
“We searched for the lost keys for hours, but our efforts were in vain.”
“Despite his desperate pleas for mercy, the prisoner realized his efforts to change the judge's mind were entirely in vain.”
Anchors to
Last updated August 10, 2026