advantage

[ ad-van-tij, -vahn- ]

noun

1. any state, circumstance, opportunity, or means specially favorable to success, interest, or any desired end:

   the advantage of a good education.

2. benefit; gain; profit:

   It will be to his advantage to learn Chinese before going to China.

3. superiority or ascendancy (often followed by over or of ):

   His height gave him an advantage over his opponent.

4. a position of superiority (often followed by over or of ):

   their advantage in experienced players.

5. Tennis. the first point scored after deuce.

verb (used with object)

, ad·van·taged, ad·van·taging.

1. to be of service to; yield profit or gain to; benefit.

   Synonyms: aid, help, avail, serve

2. to cause to advance; further; promote:

   Such action will advantage our cause.

3. to prove beneficial to; profit:

   It would advantage him to work harder.

advantage

/ ədˈvɑːntɪdʒ /

noun

1. often foll byover or of superior or more favourable position or power

   he had an advantage over me because of his experience

2. benefit or profit (esp in the phrase to one's advantage )
3. tennis
   1. the point scored after deuce
   2. the resulting state of the score
4. take advantage of
   1. to make good use of
   2. to impose upon the weakness, good nature, etc, of; abuse
   3. to seduce
5. to advantage
   to good effect

   he used his height to advantage at the game

6. you have the advantage of me
   you know me but I do not know you

Word History and Origins

Origin of advantage¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English ava(u)ntage, from Anglo-French, Old French avantage, equivalent to avant “before” + -age noun suffix; advance, -age

Word History and Origins

Origin of advantage¹

C14: avantage (later altered to advantage on the model of words beginning with Latin ad- ), from Old French avant before, from Latin abante from before, away. See advance

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. have the advantage of, to be in a superior or advantageous position; possess an advantage over:

   By virtue of independent wealth, he has the advantage of his opponents.

2. take advantage of,
   1. to make use of for gain:

      to take advantage of an opportunity.

   2. to impose upon, especially unfairly, as by exploiting a weakness:

      to take advantage of someone.

3. to advantage, to good effect; advantageously:

   The paintings were arranged to advantage on one wall.

More idioms and phrases containing advantage

see get the advantage of ; show to advantage ; take advantage of ; to advantage .

Example Sentences

So, you might not need to rush to buy a new iPhone, but if you are planning a major purchase anyway you may want to take advantage of the certainty of current pricing.

From Salon

By understanding this dynamic, we can start to use it to our own advantage, to both make and break habits.

From Science Daily

That mix of techniques has obvious advantages, better preparing communities for unpredictable resources and increasing demand.

From Science Daily

"By taking advantage of the weight matrix rather than just using a generic compression algorithm for the bits that are representing the weight matrix, we were able to do much better."

From Science Daily

“What they're controlling right now, it does give them a certain advantage” she said.

From BBC

Related Words

• benefit
• edge
• favor
• gain
• interest
• leverage
• position
• power
• preference
• profit
• protection
• recognition
• return
• superiority
• support
• upper hand

When To Use

What are other ways to say advantage?

An advantage is something that positions one well for accomplishing something. How is advantage different from benefit and profit? Find out on Thesaurus.com.