take advantage of

Meaning

This expression has two common meanings depending on the context. Positively, it means to make good use of an opportunity or resource. Negatively, it means to exploit someone or something unfairly for one's own benefit.

Examples

• You should take advantage of the sunny weather and go for a walk.

  You should take advantage of the sunny weather and go for a walk.

• I decided to take advantage of the free training sessions at my gym.

  I decided to take advantage of the free training sessions at my gym.

• Don't let them take advantage of your kindness.

  Don't let them take advantage of your kindness.

• We need to take advantage of this low interest rate before it goes up.

  We need to take advantage of this low interest rate before it goes up.

• He took advantage of his opponent's mistake to win the match.

  He took advantage of his opponent's mistake to win the match.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I want to make advantage of this discount.

  ✓ I want to take advantage of this discount.

  The correct verb to use in this collocation is 'take', not 'make' or 'do'.

• ✗ She took advantage on the free hotel breakfast.

  ✓ She took advantage of the free hotel breakfast.

  The fixed idiom always uses the preposition 'of', never 'on' or 'at'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• Make sure you ___ the student discount when buying your laptop.

  💡 make good use of

  Show answer

  take advantage of

• I feel like they are trying to ___ my good nature.

  💡 exploit or use unfairly

  Show answer

  take advantage of