vantage

American  

[van-tij, vahn-] / ˈvæn tɪdʒ, ˈvɑn- /

noun

1. a position, condition, or place affording some advantage or a commanding view.

2. an advantage or superiority.

   the vantage of wisdom that often comes with age.

3. British. advantage.

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vantage British  

/ ˈvɑːntɪdʒ /

noun

1. a state, position, or opportunity affording superiority or advantage

2. superiority or benefit accruing from such a position, state, etc

3. tennis short for advantage

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Other Word Forms

• vantageless adjective

Etymology

Origin of vantage

1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French, aphetic variant of avantage advantage

Explanation

A vantage is a really good place from which to survey a scene. You might find that the roof of the house offers an excellent vantage from which to drop water balloons on your kid brother’s head. Vantage is a variation of advantage, but when we use vantage we’re almost always talking about a position, not just general superiority. If you had extra tutoring for a big exam, you would have the advantage over a classmate who didn’t. But if your seat for the test allowed you to see the answer sheet lying on the desk, well then you would have a superior vantage — not that you would take advantage of that, of course!

Example Sentences

I'm a British person with Indian heritage, giving me a vantage point over two countries with radically different feelings towards voice notes.

From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026

From the vantage point of 2026, as we endure an unprecedented degree of barbarism at every level of society, we see how disastrous his prescriptions were.

From Salon • Apr. 19, 2026

SG: I was cruising around that vicinity trying to see if I could get a good vantage point to take photos of Vertigo.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

Their vantage point from behind the plate gave them what they believed to be the unique ability to determine the sequence of every duel between pitcher and hitter.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

There is egocentrism, the inability of children to imagine a simple scene, such as three toy mountains on a tabletop, from another person’s vantage point.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

Related Words

• advantage