to take advantage

Examples

• All

• They were just taking advantage of us.

  #No_Filter (2022)

• Here in India, a lot of schools are taking advantage of poor families.

• This is just for Black Friday, so take advantage right now.

  Matthew Hussey

• People rarely take advantage of all my services.

  The Cable Guy (1996)

• But I just, I, I feel like a lot of times people try to take advantage of celebrities.

  Power 106 Los Angeles

• You're very young and people can take advantage of you.

  Lolita (1997)

• They're taking full advantage of the extra man on the pitch.

  Mean Machine (2001)

• Employees who cannot afford reductions in pay, however, may be unable to take advantage of such breaks.

  Academic text (2011)

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

  The Civil Dead (2023)

• Many businesses take advantage of the holiday season to boost their sales.

Synonyms

U

to use

vsto take advantage

∞ 6.3

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

stresses unfair or unethical behaviour rather than neutral resource application

C

to cheat

vsto take advantage

474 1.2

To act dishonestly to gain an unfair advantage

focuses on unfair personal gain even without rule-breaking

E

to exploit

vsto take advantage

214 5.6

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

emphasizes moral wrongness rather than only selfishness

L

to leverage

vsto take advantage

114 5.4

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

implies unfair or unethical use rather than neutral strategic use

P

to prey

vsto take advantage

75 7.8

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

covers acting unfairly toward people or situations, not only targeting vulnerability

G

to game

vsto take advantage

• Informal

36 7.6

To try to get an unfair advantage by using the rules

focuses on unfair use of people or situations rather than system manipulation

C

to cash in on

vsto take advantage

30 4.4

Get money or other benefits from a situation, often unfairly

often implies exploiting unfairly rather than just opportunism

P

to parasitize

vsto take advantage

1 8.0

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

is broader, covering unfair application even without one-sided dependence

T

to take for all one has got

vsto take advantage

• Informal

9.9

To trick someone and steal all their money and belongings

covers unfair action more generally, not only total deception

P

to play it for all it's worth

vsto take advantage

• Informal

7.5

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

often carries a negative ethical sense rather than mere full use

Antonyms

S

to support

∞ 1.0

Give help to a person or idea

R

respect

532 2.8

A particular part or detail of something

How Exploitative

to abuse

• NSFW

344 3.7

to exploit

214 5.6

to manipulate

382 6.1

to take advantage

549 4.6

to use

∞ 6.3

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology