idiom · neutral

have a leg up

/hæv ə ˈlɛg ʌp/have a LEG up

speakingtask2

to have an advantage over others, often because of help or favourable conditions

Examples

“Her internship with a major firm gave her a leg up in the job market.”

“Students who learn coding early have a leg up when applying for tech roles.”

“He got a leg up from his uncle who works in the company.”

Band 8 sentence

“His network of alumni mentors gave him a leg up when applying for competitive internships.”

Collocations

  • have a leg up on someone
  • get a leg up in the job market

Word family

have a leg up idiomget a leg up idiom (variant)

Common mistakes

have leg up→have a leg up

have a leg up over someone→have a leg up on someone

he has one leg up→he has a leg up

Say it for a higher band

5be better than→6have an advantage→7+have a leg up

Synonyms

have an advantage

Easily confused

have a head start

“Students who prepare early have a head start.”

Related words

get aheadseize the opportunitymake a name for oneselfstrike while the iron is hotget the ball rollinggo the extra milemake the gradeclimb the (career) ladder

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