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

The “machine” wants to sell tickets and exploit his trauma in the process.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

“Will there be ways to try and exploit that and try and get stuff done?”

From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026

Researchers have already shown that AI agents can autonomously exploit software vulnerabilities; in one experiment, a GPT-4 agent successfully exploited 73% of vulnerabilities without being given prior knowledge.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

Instead of relying only on treating an entire structure, researchers are trying to exploit the insects' own biology, social behavior, feeding habits, and even their microbial traces.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026

The commercial potential for the stuff–which soon became known as phosphorus, from Greek and Latin roots meaning "light bearing"–was not lost on eager businesspeople, but the difficulties of manufacture made it too costly to exploit.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

He was fascinated by the camera operators who followed his Mudcats exploits and asked them to teach him how they worked.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

But it’s lonely up there for Garry, so for an alarming—sorry, I mean impressive—number of his exploits he enlists help from audience members.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

Beyond his exploits in Sao Paulo's financial hub Faria Lima, high-flying Vorcaro invested in real estate, pharmaceuticals, textiles and even soccer.

From Barron's ● Sep. 5, 2026

Tapping Travis Scott to play the Bard singing the tales of Odysseus’ exploits, for example, doesn’t merely reframe the role of ancient storytellers and poets as that age’s rappers.

From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026

I’d read all about her heroic exploits in the newspaper.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

The reports cataloged personal information and points of leverage that can eventually be exploited.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

His earlier work showed that the products of fructose metabolism can be exploited by cancer cells to promote their growth.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 6, 2026

Still, it’s always disappointing when a generous offer feels like it’s been exploited.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

He also exploited Fulham's high defensive line intelligently to set up Palmer's goal.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

"It's kind of demeaning—for her, to ask, and for him, to be exploited like that just because he loves her."

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins

During a hearing over that issue last month, prosecutors revealed jailhouse recordings in which Lavie bragged about exploiting Cloobeck.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

U.S. security agencies on Tuesday accused six Chinese artificial intelligence companies of systematically exploiting American AI models to train their own systems.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

The key is exploiting job-seeker anxiety, he noted: “They want somebody who is in a hurry to find a job.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 5, 2026

On Friday, Sánchez accused migrant traffickers of exploiting a decision recently made by the country's supreme court which constrained the government's right to immediately deport people who had arrived by sea.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

“We really hate to let you go. But if the Red Guards found out, they would accuse us of exploiting working people.”

From "Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution" by Ji-li Jiang

Related Words

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