advantage
/ədˈvɑːntɪdʒ
/noun
1A condition or circumstance that puts one in a favourable or superior position: companies with a computerized database are at an advantage she had an advantage over her mother’s generation...
- Women manifestly have the ability to detect rivals and to employ a variety of tactics to place themselves at an advantage over them.
- That puts me at an advantage over any other physique, large or small.
- Some of these individuals might be at an advantage over their predecessors, because they might be more able to adapt to new conditions.
Synonyms
upper hand, edge, lead, head, whip hand, trump card;
superiority, dominance, ascendancy, supremacy, primacy, precedence, power, mastery, control, sway, authority
North American informal the catbird seat
Australian/New Zealand informal the box seat
1.1 [mass noun] The opportunity to gain something; benefit or profit: you could learn something to your advantage he saw some advantage in the proposal...
- If the opportunities to gain advantage from automation are largely gone, the remaining frontier is innovation.
- The way in which the deregulation was done was faulty; it allowed interest seeking traders to take advantage to their own profit.
- By having the bodywork lower, it is possible to take advantage of the ‘ground effect’ and gain some slight speed advantage.
Synonyms
benefit, profit, gain, good, interest, welfare, well-being, enjoyment, satisfaction, comfort, ease, convenience;
help, aid, assistance, use, utility, service, purpose, effect, object, reason, worth
informal mileage, percentage
1.2A favourable or desirable feature: the village’s proximity to the town is an advantage...
- A set of regulations should also be set up to support academic fields in which Taiwan has advantages or special features.
- This feature offers distinct advantages over the one-way system, but also at a higher cost.
- This feature will have advantages for customers in the pharmaceutical industry, where speed is critical.
Synonyms
benefit, value, reward, merit, good point, strong point, asset, plus, bonus, boon, blessing, virtue, privilege, perk, fringe benefit, additional benefit, added extra;
attraction, desirability, beauty, usefulness, helpfulness, convenience, advantageousness, expedience, expediency, profit, profitability, advisability
formal perquisite
1.3 Tennis A score marking a point interim between deuce and winning the game: ‘Advantage, Federer.’...
- Henman races to three set points but Udomchoke gets a stay of execution as the Briton lets slip his advantage for deuce.
- Is it 30 all, deuce, advantage to them or set point to me?
verb [with object]
Put in a favourable or superior position.Are we simply caught in a spiral here that will be destructive of our interests while, obviously, significantly advantaging theirs?...
- National's scheme, by contrast, is aimed at further advantaging those who are already advantaged.
- It has the effect of unfairly disadvantaging some individuals and communities, while unfairly advantaging other individuals and communities.
Phrases
have the advantage of
take advantage of
to advantage
turn something to advantage (or to one's advantage)
Origin
Middle English: from Old French avantage, from avant 'in front', from late Latin abante (see advance).