advantage

advantage 1 Advantage, handicap, allowance, odds, edge denote a factor or set of factors in a competition or rivalry giving one person or side a position of superiority over the other.

Advantage is the general term, and implies superiority of any kind

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the adult, with trained powers, has an immense advantage over the child in the acquisition of information— Eliot

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A handicap is something, typically an artificial advantage, designed to equalize competition; thus, in golf, the handicap assigned a player is the difference between the average of a certain number of his best scores and par for the course; for instance, if the player’s best-score average is 75 and par is 72, his handicap is 3, and when he plays in a handicap match the player is allowed to deduct three strokes from his total score.

An allowance is an advantageous handicap stated as a deduction of some sort.

In horse racing an allowance is a deduction from the weight that the rules require a horse to carry, granted to a horse considered to be at a disadvantage.

Odds usually implies a material advantage as in strength, numbers, or resources. It is often used of such an advantage possessed by the opposite side

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managed to beat the odds against him— O’Leary

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the peculiarly British quality . . . of sticking out against odds— Contemporary Review

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Advantage is often stated as a difference, odds as a ratio

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one boxer has an advantage of ten pounds in weight

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one army has odds of two to one over the other

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Odds may also denote an equalizing concession made to an inferior competitor; it then differs from handicap and allowance in that the concession is made by the superior competitor and not assigned by a third party

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each side feels that it cannot allow any odds to the other— Bryce

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Edge may be an equivalent of advantage or odds but usually implies a slight but decisive superiority

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here we have the edge on our rivals, not only because of our superior location, but also because we are reputedly reckless about reducing prices— Publishers’ Weekly

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Analogous words: preeminence, superlativeness (see corresponding adjectives at SUPREME): *supremacy, ascendancy

Antonyms: disadvantage: handicap (in extended sense)

Contrasted words: *obstacle, obstruction, impediment, bar

2 *use, service, account, profit, avail

Analogous words: improvement, betterment (see corresponding verbs at IMPROVE): enhancement, heightening (see corresponding verbs at INTENSIFY): benefit (see corresponding verb at BENEFIT)

Antonyms: detriment

Contrasted words: harm, hurt, damage, *injury