verb · neutral

capitalize

/ˈkæpɪtəlaɪz/CAP·i·ta·lize

Band 5-6speakingtask2

to take advantage of something in order to gain benefit

Examples

Many small businesses capitalized on the tourism boom last year.

Students should capitalize on free resources online to improve their writing.

Companies often try to capitalize on trends to boost sales.

Band 8 sentence

Smart start-ups capitalized on a gap in the market by offering niche, subscription-based services.

Collocations

  • capitalize on (an opportunity)
  • capitalize a company

Word family

capitalization nouncapitalized adjective (past participle)capitalizing gerund / present participle

Common mistakes

capitalize in the opportunitycapitalize on the opportunity

capitalize = tư bản hóacapitalize = tận dụng / lợi dụng (cơ hội)

Say it for a higher band

5use6take advantage of7+capitalize

Synonyms

take advantage of

exploit

Easily confused

capitulate

After a long negotiation, the company capitulated to the union's demands.

capitalize on

Local shops capitalized on the festival to increase profits.

Related words

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In -ize

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