exploitation

American  

[ek-sploi-tey-shuhn] / ˌɛk splɔɪˈteɪ ʃən /

noun

• exploitations
  plural

1. use or utilization, especially for profit.

   the exploitation of newly discovered oil fields.

2. selfish utilization.

   He got ahead through the exploitation of his friends.

3. the combined, often varied, use of public-relations and advertising techniques to promote a person, movie, product, etc.

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Usage

What does exploitation mean? Exploitation is the act of selfishly taking advantage of someone or a group of people in order to profit from them or otherwise benefit oneself. Exploitation is a noun form of the verb exploit, which commonly means to take advantage in such a way. The adjective form is exploitative, as in exploitative practices. 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, or to create a profit or other benefit. But when the verb is applied to people, it is always used negatively. Exploitation can also be used in a way that means the use of something, especially for profit, as in Since we have these resources, we should make sure that the exploitation of them maximizes revenue. Still, exploitation is most commonly used in a negative way. One phrase in which it has this negative sense is exploitation film, a low-budget movie characterized by extreme violence, excessive gore, gratuitous sex, or other content meant to shock, disgust, or titillate. The related term blaxploitation refers to the exploitation of Black people and stereotypes about them, especially in movies featuring or intending to appeal to Black people. Example: The exploitation of workers to maximize profit is sadly widespread.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonexploitation
  noun
• overexploitation
  noun
• exploitational
  adjective
• exploitationally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• exploitations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of exploitation

From French, dating back to 1795–1805; see origin at exploit ², -ation

Explanation

Have you ever seen pictures of poor sick children in advertisements and wondered if they were being used for someone's profit? If this is the case, call it exploitation. When you’re talking about natural resources or knowledge rather than people, exploitation meaning "the fullest most profitable use of something" is not a bad thing. The exploitation of recycled materials can only be beneficial to our pollution problems. When people suffer under exploitation, however, it means their misfortune is being used for another's profit. Child labor, sweatshop work and debt slavery are all forms of exploitation.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

exploitation exploitations

This month, we also learned that Our Rescue, an anti-human-trafficking organization whose founder was accused of sexual exploitation himself, was awarded a $158 million no-bid contract to provide legal services to unaccompanied migrant children.

From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026

Off, her experiences were shaped by the exploitation and hardship she endured.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

The charity Save the Children has called for urgent efforts to locate and register all minors, warning that girls in particular face "heightened risks of violence, trafficking and exploitation".

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

The law ensures unaccompanied children have legal counsel to represent them in legal proceedings and to protect them from mistreatment, exploitation and trafficking.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

And Europe’s chancelleries for the next century played a chess game of naked exploitation and power from Cape Horn to Cairo.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Popeye also gives us a window into how a character’s entry into the public domain doesn’t require subsequent exploitations to adhere to his or her original conception.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2024

Escaping a Gilded Age takes more than just clever protagonists who can outwit the cruelties and exploitations of the wealthy few.

From Slate ● Apr. 8, 2020

“I know there are exploitations that have happened, but not in South Dakota,” Rep. Linda Duba, a Sioux Falls Democrat, said.

From Washington Times ● Feb. 6, 2020

The dignity in doing such a job is a million miles away from the well-documented exploitations that people endure to earn a paycheck at one of Amazon’s warehouses.

From The Verge ● Jun. 26, 2018

These expeditions were not merely commercial exploitations, although there was plenty of that.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan