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• expose
  expose

  verb (used with object)

  to lay open to danger, attack, harm, etc..
• exposé
  exposé

  noun

  a public exposure or revelation, as of something discreditable.

expose

¹ American  

[ik-spohz] / ɪkˈspoʊz /

verb (used with object)

• exposes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• exposed,
  past participle,  past
• exposing
  present participle

1. to lay open to danger, attack, harm, etc..

   to expose soldiers to gunfire;

   to expose one's character to attack.

   Synonyms:

   jeopardize, imperil, endanger, subject

2. to lay open to something specified.

   to expose oneself to the influence of bad companions.

   Antonyms:

   shield, protect

3. to uncover or bare to the air, cold, etc..

   to expose one's head to the rain.

4. to present to view; exhibit; display.

   The storekeeper exposed his wares.

5. to make known, disclose, or reveal (intentions, secrets, etc.).

   Synonyms:

   betray, unveil, uncover

   Antonyms:

   hide, conceal

6. to reveal or unmask (a crime, fraud, impostor, etc.).

   to expose a swindler.

7. to hold up to public reprehension or ridicule (fault, folly, a foolish act or person, etc.).

8. to desert in an unsheltered or open place; abandon, as a child.

9. to subject, as to the action of something.

   to expose a photographic plate to light.

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idioms

1. expose oneself, to exhibit one's body, especially one's genitals, publicly in an immodest or exhibitionistic manner.

exposé ² American  

[ek-spoh-zey] / ˌɛk spoʊˈzeɪ /

noun

1. a public exposure or revelation, as of something discreditable.

   Certain cheap magazines make a fortune out of sensational exposés.

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expose ¹ British  

/ ɪkˈspəʊz /

verb

1. to display for viewing; exhibit

2. to bring to public notice; disclose; reveal

   to expose the facts

3. to divulge the identity of; unmask

4. (foll by to) to make subject or susceptible (to attack, criticism, etc)

5. to abandon (a child, animal, etc) in the open to die

6. (foll by to) to introduce (to) or acquaint (with)

   he was exposed to the classics at an early age

7. photog to subject (a photographic film or plate) to light, X-rays, or some other type of actinic radiation

8. RC Church to exhibit (the consecrated Eucharistic Host or a relic) for public veneration

9. to display one's sexual organs in public

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exposé ² British  

/ ɛksˈpəʊzeɪ /

noun

1. the act or an instance of bringing a scandal, crime, etc, to public notice

2. an article, book, or statement that discloses a scandal, crime, etc

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• exposability
  noun
• exposal
  noun
• exposer
  noun
• exposable
  adjective
• self-exposing
  adjective
• unexposable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• exposing
  present
• exposed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• expose
  simple
• exposes
  simple
• have exposed
  perfect
• has exposed
  perfect
• am exposing
  progressive
• are exposing
  progressive
• is exposing
  progressive
• have been exposing
  perfect progressive
• has been exposing
  perfect progressive

Past

• exposed
  simple
• had exposed
  perfect
• was exposing
  progressive
• were exposing
  progressive
• had been exposing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will expose
  simple
• will have exposed
  perfect
• will be exposing
  progressive
• will have been exposing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of expose¹

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English exposen, from Old French exposer, equivalent to ex- ex- ¹ + poser “to put” ( see pose ¹), replacing Latin expōnere “to put out, expose, set forth in words”; see expound

Origin of exposé²

First recorded in 1795–1805; from French, noun use of past participle of exposer expose

Explanation

To expose means to uncover or allow to be in the open air. If you take off your coat and expose your bare arms to the terrible cold, your tattoos might freeze off. (Note: We don’t actually know if this is physically possible.) When you pronounce expose as it’s spelled, it can mean to leave out in the air, to put in peril (when you expose someone to danger), or to uncover. All of those examples are actions. However, when you pronounce it as though there is a French accent on the final "e," ex-poh-ZAY, it means the unmasking or exposure of something hidden (and usually bad or fraudulent), as when you watch an expose on 60 Minutes about the evils of frozen orange juice or some other toxic substance.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

expose exposé exposes exposed exposing

Locatelli said food could expose a person's character.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

It also demonstrates how research on unusual organisms can expose biological processes that have remained hidden despite potentially operating for hundreds of millions of years.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026

DNA is now a gold standard, used to expose false convictions.

From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2026

Mayor Karen Bass, who said last week the case could have a chilling effect on others who sought to expose misconduct within the LAPD’s ranks.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

For Alex it was an eerie experience, tiptoeing behind the other four men, watching as they dismantled the two devices, using cigarette smoke to expose the otherwise invisible beam.

From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz

The Atlantic’s recent exposé of Kash Patel is full of alarming allegations.

From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2026

What this exposé casts a light upon is a much less visible element.

From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2026

Yet that’s all Redzepi has done since the damning New York Times exposé.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026

SeaWorld and its parent company have struggled for more than a decade to return to prominence after fallout from the release of an exposé about the company’s handling of its orcas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026

The story ran across the country, “Kate Fox Jencken … intends to co-operate with her sister—Margaretta Fox Kane—in her proposed exposé of the fraudulent methods of so-called spiritualism.”

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

“The exposure she’s gotten exposes us as well.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026

"The stress of facing execution, combined with the overcrowded conditions, exposes us to illness and anxiety," Desta said.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

"Oil's return towards pre-war levels in June reflected markets pricing in a best-case outcome for the fragile US-Iran arrangement," she wrote, adding that the "re-escalation exposes how fragile that assumption was".

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

It exposes OpenAI to the kind of social-impact scrutiny that has dogged Meta Platforms and other social-media companies for many years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

She pulls on a latch, lifts a door, and exposes a Belle-trunk.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

This exposed the ice beneath, leaving the glaciers vulnerable to melting faster in subsequent heatwaves.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

The protests, which culminated in the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan last month, exposed deep frustration among young Indians over access to jobs and educational opportunities.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

After the program was exposed in a national magazine, the College Board quietly ended it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

That pandemic hit children and younger and middle-aged adults harder than seniors, who likely had been exposed to an older version of the H1N1 virus when they were younger.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

Being out at night made me feel exposed and vulnerable in a way I’d never experienced before, and I didn’t like it.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

The revelation came as the country grappled with whistleblower Edward Snowden’s leaks exposing the vast reach of the agency’s surveillance.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

Any reform plan from a committee would still require lawmakers to cast a difficult vote exposing them to charges of overtaxing working Americans or stiffing retirees.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

“I believe that no, we’re not going to let the ends justify the means, even if the ends may be laudable, like exposing bigotry, because it leads us down a very slippery slope.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

He said young people were engaged with online activity and devices at increasingly young ages exposing them to criminal communities and influences.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

He slices into the apple, exposing a neat row of dark brown seeds.

From "The Fourteenth Goldfish" by Jennifer L. Holm