exploit

¹ American  

[ek-sploit, ik-sploit] / ˈɛk splɔɪt, ɪkˈsplɔɪt /

noun

1. a striking or notable deed; feat; spirited or heroic act.

   the exploits of Alexander the Great.

   Synonyms:

   accomplishment

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exploit ² American  

[ik-sploit, eks-ploit, ik-sploit] / ɪkˈsplɔɪt, ˈɛks plɔɪt, ɪkˈsplɔɪt /

verb (used with object)

exploits, present (3rd person singular) exploited, past participle, past exploiting present participle

1. to utilize, especially for profit; turn to practical account.

   to exploit a business opportunity.

2. to use selfishly for one's own ends.

   employers who exploit their workers.

3. to advance or further through exploitation; promote.

   He exploited his new movie through a series of guest appearances.

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noun

Digital Technology.

1. 1. a flaw in hardware or software that is vulnerable to hacking or other cyberattacks.

   2. a piece of software that takes advantage of such a flaw to compromise a computer system or network.

2. (in a video game) the use of a bug or flaw in game design to a player’s advantage or to the disadvantage of other players.

exploit British  

noun

1. a notable deed or feat, esp one that is noble or heroic

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verb

1. to take advantage of (a person, situation, etc), esp unethically or unjustly for one's own ends

2. to make the best use of

   to exploit natural resources

Usage

What does exploit mean? As a verb, exploit commonly means to selfishly take advantage of someone in order to profit from them or otherwise benefit oneself. As a noun, exploit means a notable or heroic accomplishment. As a verb, exploit can also be used in a more neutral way that doesn’t imply selfishness: to make the best use of something, especially an opportunity, to create a profit or other benefit. But when the verb is applied to people, it is always used negatively. The noun form of the verb exploit is exploitation, and the adjective form is exploitative, as in exploitative practices. Example: I know you’re trying to live up to the exploits and success of your father, but exploiting your workers to maximize profit is not the way to do it.

Synonym Usage

See achievement.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• exploitability
  noun
• exploitation
  noun
• exploiter
  noun
• exploitable
  adjective
• exploitative
  adjective
• exploitatory
  adjective
• exploitive
  adjective
• nonexploitable
  adjective
• nonexploitative
  adjective
• nonexploitive
  adjective
• unexploitable
  adjective
• unexploitative
  adjective
• unexploitive
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• exploiting
  present
• exploited
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• exploit
  simple
• exploits
  simple
• have exploited
  perfect
• has exploited
  perfect
• am exploiting
  progressive
• are exploiting
  progressive
• is exploiting
  progressive
• have been exploiting
  perfect progressive
• has been exploiting
  perfect progressive

Past

• exploited
  simple
• had exploited
  perfect
• was exploiting
  progressive
• were exploiting
  progressive
• had been exploiting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will exploit
  simple
• will have exploited
  perfect
• will be exploiting
  progressive
• will have been exploiting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of exploit¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English exploit, espleit, from Old French exploit, Anglo-French espleit, from Latin explicitum, neuter of explicitus “unfolded, set forth,” variant past participle of explicāre “to unfold, unroll, smooth, reveal”; see explicate

Origin of exploit²

First recorded in 1300–50; from French exploiter, derivative of exploit (noun); replacing late Middle English expleiten “to achieve,” from Anglo-French, Middle French espleiter, espleitier, derivative of espleit, esploit, expleit, exploit (noun), from Latin explicitum “matter settled, displayed,” noun use of explicitus “unfolded, revealed,” variant past participle of explicāre; see exploit ¹

Explanation

An exploit is a heroic act or notable deed. The King Arthur legends are full of stories of the exploits of the Knights of the Round Table, including Sir Lancelot and King Arthur himself. This noun is from Middle English expleit, "outcome," from Latin explicitus, "unfolded, set forth." The verb exploit means to use someone or something, usually selfishly or for profit. Workers who are tired of being exploited by factory owners form unions that allow them to stand together as a powerful force.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

exploit exploits exploited exploiting

"It did not just attack Hugging Face. It actually attacked its internal system to exploit its own vulnerabilities," Abbass said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

“Maneuver warfare hinges on the ability to exploit an adversary’s weaknesses through principles like speed, agility, reach, and decisive mass,” Anduril said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

Another way to exploit the AI evolution is available for investors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Therefore, if investors were buying calls to exploit future upside potential in the stock, then derivative traders would be looking to buy shares to hedge themselves.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026

Our clothes won't exploit people, destroy rain forests, or harm any animal on the planet.

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins

"After the Tartan Army's exploits in America you get to see one of our major cities represented to the world again."

From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026

In an early scene in “Othello” the title character recalls in lush language how his recounting of the daring and dangerous exploits he endured as a warrior transfixed and moved his new wife, Desdemona:

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

The oil man’s exploits take place more than a century ago, but seem particularly relevant now with Musk newly minted as the world’s first trillionaire and income inequality rapidly widening.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

As well as his Wales exploits, he toured with the British and Irish Lions in 2013 and 2017, playing three Tests and scoring two brilliant tries in the series win against Australia.

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026

From soup to sweet Tommen burbled about the exploits of his kittens, whilst feeding them morsels of pike off his own royal plate.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Patel’s style has been built around dark insinuation, and in this case his phrasing was official enough to seem consequential, yet vague enough to be exploited.

From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026

The lawsuit claims that Liu did not return an Apple-issued work laptop and exploited a “rare, previously unknown” bug to access Apple’s shared network folders while employed at OpenAI.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026

The 69-year-old exploited his roles to help others secure engineering contracts, land transfers and financing, in exchange for money and valuables, said state media.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

He is far from the only public figure whose identity has been exploited by scammers.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

This business of saving souls had no ethics; every human relationship was shamelessly exploited.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

“The systems in each voting location are not connected to the Internet or to each other, and many methods for exploiting them rely on physical proximity.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Whether the genre is romantasy or autofiction, making up stories often demands making up stories about real people — exploiting them — to serve a narrative purpose.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

However, the Korean shares cannot be converted into ADRs, preventing arbitrage by exploiting the discrepancy.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026

He said he paid them the equivalent of about £100 for 10 days' work but denied exploiting them.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

Having rejected medicine, law, and business, Morrie had decided the research world would be a place where he could contribute without exploiting others.

From "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom

Related Words

• abuse
• apply
• capitalize on
• employ
• handle
• manipulate
• mine
• profit from
• use
• utilize