Meaning & use
take advice
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Meaning
phraseidiom
to ask someone for their opinion or guidance and then act on it
Grammar: Used with 'from' or 'on': take advice from an expert, take advice on a problem.
Patterns
- take advice from someone
- take advice on something
Before signing the contract, she took advice from her lawyer.
He rarely takes advice, which is why he keeps making the same mistakes.
We took advice on how to invest the money safely.
Common combinations
- take legal advice
- You should take legal advice before you reply to the letter.
- take professional advice
- They took professional advice about the tax rules.
- take advice from someone
- I took advice from a friend who had done the same course.
Synonyms and how they differ
- consult
- Consult is more formal and focuses on asking a specialist; take advice stresses that you then follow the guidance.
- seek advice
- Seek advice means you look for it; take advice suggests you actually receive and use it.
Opposites
Word family
- adviser noun
- a person whose job is to give advice
Commonly confused: take advice or give advice?
take advice vs give advice
Give advice means you tell someone what to do; take advice means you are the one listening and acting.
Practice
She decided to take advice ______ a financial expert before investing.
Choose one answer.
The fixed pattern is 'take advice from someone'. 'Of' would fit 'advice of a friend' only in a different structure, and 'to' and 'with' do not combine with 'take advice' here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “take advice”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.