Word / phrase: To take advantage of someone/something

What does it mean? It means to use a weakness in someone, something, or situation for your gain or benefit.

Is it positive or negative? If you take advantage of somebody’s character or experience it always comes with a negative connotation. But, it can be used to show positive outcomes when you see opportunities and benefit from that.

When do you use it? You can use it to talk about people and how other people might use that person for their own gain. You can also use it to show how you saw an opportunity and from that, you benefitted from it.

Example 1: She doesn’t know how to say no to people, so lots of people take advantage of her.
Example 2: I noticed there were no fast-food restaurants in the town, so I took advantage of that and opened a burger bar. It was very popular.
Example 3: The team won 7-0 because they took advantage of the young and inexperienced players playing on the right side of the pitch.

Questions: When was the last time you took advantage of a situation?
                  Do you know anyone who gets taken advantage of, do they know?