intransitive verb
Definition 1
Avail oneself of, benefit by, a circumstance.
Source: Invertext, from Concise Oxford Dictionary
Context: The choice of two internal candidates underlines the success of JPMorgan's investment bank, which took advantage of rivals' weaknesses and financial troubles to win more clients and bigger deals in 2008 and 2009.
Source: Financial Times 14/07/2010 (Francesco Guerrera)