Dictionary

take advantage of en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Meanings

1. (transitive) To use or make use of.
   • But now this visit of my soft warm hand in those so sensible parts had put every thing into such ungovernable fury that, disdaining all further preluding, and taking advantage of my commodious posture, he made the storm fall where I scarce patiently expected, and where he was sure to lay it 1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC:
   • He took advantage of the swimming pool every day of his visit.
2. (transitive) To exploit.
   • The World Cup runners-up were 2-0 down after 35 minutes when Lineth Beerensteyn punished defensive errors and took advantage of a passive midfield to score twice for the Netherlands. 2023 December 1, Emma Sanders, “England 3-2 Netherlands”, in BBC Sport:
   • He toyed with her emotions just to get her in bed. He took advantage of her.
   • Until two or three days before Carter's December 15 announcement, the State Department spokesman was still saying that no decisions had been reached on the timing and the modality for normalization of relations with Peking. Meanwhile, the administration had been keeping Congress, including its leadership, completely in the dark. Then, taking advantage of the Christmas holidays, during which no one was watching on Capitol Hill, Carter sprang his surprise. 1983, James C. H. Shen, “Beginnings of Endings”, in Robert Myers, editor, The U.S. & Free China: How the U.S. Sold Out Its Ally, Washington, D.C.: Acropolis Books Ltd., →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 18:
   • She took advantage of his desperation.
   • Confronted with the challenge of economic restructuring in the context of the noninterventionist policy of the Hong Kong government, local manufacturers had amore limited ability to pursue technological upgrading than their counterparts in Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore had. Their survival strategy was to take advantage of the new availability of the massive supply of cheap labor and cheap industrial land in South China. 1998, Ching Kwan Lee, Gender and the South China Miracle, University of California Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, pages 45–46:

Forms

Deriveds

untaken-advantage-of · untaken advantage of

Synonyms

presume

Translations (63)

mi whakamahi (make use of) · ru воспользоваться (exploit) · got 𐌱𐌹𐍆𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍉𐌽 (exploit) · ca aprofitar (make use of) · fi hyödyntää (exploit) · pt tirar vantagem de (exploit) · sv dra nytta av (make use of) · gl abusar (exploit) · eo ekspluati (exploit) · jam tek step wid (exploit) · ru испо́льзовать (make use of) · es aprovecharse (make use of) · hu hasznát veszi (make use of) · pl wykorzystywać (exploit) · ru эксплуати́ровать (exploit) · es aprovecharse (exploit) · fr profiter de (make use of) · ca aprofitar-se (exploit) · mi makihuhunu (exploit) · fo gagnnýta (exploit) · it approfittare (make use of) · sv utnyttja (make use of) · de einen Vorteil ziehen aus (exploit) · gl aproveitar (exploit) · fi hyödyntää (make use of) · it sfruttare (make use of) · mi makihuhunu (make use of) · fo nýta (make use of) · pl korzystać (make use of) · de nutzen (make use of) · fi käyttää (make use of) · cmn 壓榨 (exploit) · nl voordeel trekken uit (exploit) · gd gabh brath air (make use of) · fo gagnnýta (make use of) · es aprovechar (make use of) · pl wykorzystać (exploit) · cmn 剝削 /剥削 (exploit) · fo nýta til fyrimunar fyri (exploit) · ms mempergunakan (exploit) · hy օգտվել (exploit) · gd gabh brath air (exploit) · hu kihasznál (make use of) · it avvantaggiarsi (exploit) · fi käyttää hyväksi (exploit) · hu kihasznál (exploit) · gl aproveitar (make use of) · sv utnyttja (exploit) · ca aprofitar-se (make use of) · pt explorar (exploit) · ro abuza de (make use of) · de ausnutzen (exploit) · ro exploata (make use of) · pl skorzystać (make use of) · de Gebrauch machen von (make use of) · nl gebruik maken van (make use of) · hy օգտվել (make use of) · ar اِسْتَغَلَّ (make use of) · fi riistää (exploit) · ro exploata (exploit) · pt aproveitar (make use of) · ota صاغمق (exploit) · ru воспо́льзоваться (make use of)