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by Kate Woodford

Today’s post has a very positive feel to it as I’m looking at the language around responding to opportunities.

Starting with a useful collocation, we say that we take an opportunity, meaning that we use a chance to do something.

To convey that we use that opportunity with speed and enthusiasm, we can say we seize the opportunity:

She took the opportunity to congratulate him on his award.

Rival companies have seized the opportunity to gain market share.

To emphasize how quickly and enthusiastically we seize an opportunity, we might say we seize the opportunity with both hands:

This was a once-in-a-lifetime career opportunity, and she seized it with both hands.

An excellent opportunity that will probably lead to success is sometimes called a golden opportunity:

Just before half-time, United were presented with a golden opportunity to score.

Moving on, if you take advantage of a situation that offers benefits, you make use of it. A rather more formal way of saying this is to avail yourself of something.

Do take advantage of the sports facilities while you’re here.

While I was there, I availed myself of the opportunity to meet the director and some of the actors.

Another useful phrase in this area is make the most of something. If you make the most of a situation that offers benefits, you take full advantage of it, often because it will not last long:

 I thought we’d make the most of the beautiful weather by having a picnic in the park.

There are two useful phrasal verbs here. If you jump at or leap at a chance to do something, you accept it eagerly:

He leapt at the chance to join the team.

She was offered the role and jumped at it.

Finally, when unexpected or unusual opportunities come your way, you might be advised to make hay while the sun shines, meaning ‘make good use of an opportunity while it lasts’:

Due to the new reduction in sales tax, shoppers have a little more money in their pockets – and retailers are making hay while the sun shines.

Of course, we don’t always make use of opportunities, so let’s look at the language around that. A useful phrasal verb for this idea is miss out. If you miss out or miss out on something, you don’t get the opportunity to experience something good or enjoyable:

I didn’t see much of my father during my teens and felt I’d missed out.

She missed out on a medal in Paris by finishing fourth.

If you miss the boat, you lose an opportunity to do something because you are too slow to act:

Are there still tickets available for the concert, or have I missed the boat?

Meanwhile, if someone complains that something is passing them by, they mean they are not making good use of the opportunities that it offers:

Now aged 40, she worried that life was passing her by.

That concludes my post on using (and not using) opportunities. I hope you seize, with both hands, this golden opportunity to learn some new expressions!