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Glite Dictionary
to take advantage of

to take advantage of

465 2.5
Use someone's trust or weakness to get something unfairly
  • phrasal verb
  • /teɪk ədˈvæn.tɪdʒ ʌv/
translation icon : aprovechar
  • Many people will take advantage of discounts during the holiday shopping season.
  • take advantage of opportunities
  • take full advantage of
  • take advantage of technology

And when people are played and taken advantage of, they don't heal.

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Examples

  • So my biggest advice is take advantage of this vacation, right?

  • You need to take advantage of this free time that you have.

    The Civil Dead (2023)

  • The second thing is to take advantage of what is available now.

  • I mean, how can you take advantage of the circumstances?

  • The real question is, will we be able to take advantage of this power?

    Academic text (1991)

  • Go to blinds.com and take advantage of this week's special savings.

  • Whether small enterprises will take advantage of this legal modification, however, remains to be seen.

    Academic text (1999)

  • The kids, Katy and Mike, were only too happy to take advantage of this crumbling situation.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • She tried to take advantage of his lack of experience to win the negotiation.

  • The athlete decided to take advantage of the opportunity to train with a champion.

Synonyms

to use
vsto take advantage of
∞ 6.3

To treat someone only as a way to get what you want

is more about using a weakness or situation specifically for unfair gain
to take advantage
vsto take advantage of
549 4.6

To use a person or situation to get an unfair benefit for yourself

is identical in meaning but differs only in wording or phrasing
to cheat
vsto take advantage of
474 1.2

To act dishonestly to gain an unfair advantage

focuses more on benefiting from a weakness or situation than on rule breaking
to exploit
vsto take advantage of
214 5.6

To use someone or something in an unfair way to get an advantage

focuses on exploiting weakness or situations with unethical intent
to leverage
vsto take advantage of
114 5.4

To use resources such as money or influence to gain an advantage

implies unethical use of weakness or situation rather than neutral resource use
to prey
vsto take advantage of
75 7.8

To use people who are weak or trusting to get what you want

is broader, applying to any weakness or situation, not only vulnerability
to game
vsto take advantage of
  • Informal
36 7.6

To try to get an unfair advantage by using the rules

is more about personal weakness or situational unfairness than system tricks
to cash in on
vsto take advantage of
30 4.4

Get money or other benefits from a situation, often unfairly

often carries a stronger sense of unfairness toward a person's weakness
to pull a fast one on
vsto take advantage of
  • Informal
5 8.1

To trick someone to gain an advantage

is broader, covering ongoing unfair use of weakness or situations
to parasitize
vsto take advantage of
1 8.0

To use a person or thing to get benefit while giving little back

stresses taking advantage specifically of weakness or situation for gain
to play the angle
vsto take advantage of
1 7.7

Use clever or dishonest moves to get an advantage

is similar but more explicitly about exploiting weakness rather than cleverness
to take for all one has got
vsto take advantage of
  • Informal
9.9

To trick someone and steal all their money and belongings

is similar but can include smaller or situationally focused unfair gains
to play it for all it's worth
vsto take advantage of
  • Informal
7.5

Use a chance as much as possible to get the most from it

often implies taking advantage with an unethical or personal focus

Antonyms

to protect
∞ 1.0

To keep someone or something safe from harm

to assist
605 1.0

To help someone by making a task easier

How Exploitative

to abuse
  • NSFW
344 3.7
to exploit
214 5.6
to manipulate
382 6.1
to take advantage of
465 2.5
to use
∞ 6.3

Surface Forms

take advantage of infinitive
taking advantage of present participle
takes advantage of third person singular
took advantage of past
taken advantage of past participle

Morphology

take + advantage + of

The meaning 'to use someone's weakness or a situation for one's own benefit' is directly derivable from combining 'take' (seize) with 'advantage' (a favorable circumstance) with 'of' marking the target; this compositional pattern is common across many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will likely infer the core sense. The pragmatic nuance of unfairness or exploitation might not be fully explicit from the parts alone, but the basic idea of seizing an advantage remains transparent.

Etymology

Take advantage of comes from a simple image: someone sees an advantage, a better position or an easy chance, and takes it for themselves. So it came to mean 'to use someone's weakness or a situation for your own gain', often in an unfair way.