advantage
n. C / Un. something that helps you be more successful than others. You have an advantage if you are in a better position or have a special skill.
n. a condition or circumstance that puts one in a favourable or superior position. Often used in comparative contexts to describe a benefit that leads to success.
Knowing a second language is a big advantage in business.
The home team has a clear advantage because they are used to playing in this cold weather.
While the new software offers a significant competitive advantage in terms of speed, the high cost of implementation remains a barrier for smaller firms looking to upgrade their systems.
From Middle English avantage, avauntage, from Old French avantage, from avant (“before”), from Late Latin ab ante. The spelling with d originates in a latinizing hypercorrection, the a- being falsely supposed to be from Latin ad (see advance). For sense development, compare foredeal.
Commonly paired with the preposition 'of' when describing the benefit itself, or 'over' when comparing two parties.
He has an advantage to meHe has an advantage over meWhen comparing people or groups, the noun takes the preposition 'over' rather than 'to'.