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 orof ).

   His height gave him an advantage over his opponent.

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

   their advantage in experienced players.

5. Tennis.,  the first point scored after deuce.

verb (used with object)

advantaged, advantaging 

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. 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. 1. to make good use of

   2. to impose upon the weakness, good nature, etc, of; abuse

   3. to seduce

5. to good effect

   he used his height to advantage at the game

6. 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. to advantage, to good effect; advantageously.

   The paintings were arranged to advantage on one wall.

2. 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.

3. 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.

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

Example Sentences

Taking advantage of the ceasefire, Raja Salmi walked back to her home in Gaza City, where weeks of Israeli bombardment and ground operations had targeted areas said to harbour thousands of Hamas fighters.

Read more on Barron's

“The distribution advantage Google has today doesn’t go away,” he told a judge in 2023.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Individual investors’ rush to take advantage of low prices fueled stocks’ recovery from the April tariff tumble earlier this year.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But Constellation may have a long-term competitive advantage, as MarketWatch’s James Rogers explained.

Read more on MarketWatch

Even as institutional expertise dooms the victim, it empowers the murderer, who has created a seemingly impenetrable alibi by taking advantage of the record-keeping intrinsic to large organizations.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

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.