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

The long exploitation of Indigenous Americans, and the looming power of U.S. slave states on Mexico’s borders, made a ban on slavery both an ethical and a strategic imperative in Mexico’s new constitution.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 2, 2026

Kenya opened a tender in April for the exploitation of Mrima Hill in Kwale County, estimated to contain 5.8 million tonnes of niobium and 48.7 million tonnes of rare earth elements.

From Barron's • Jun. 29, 2026

It showed that the world’s largest economy wasn’t inevitable but was built over 250 years through ingenuity, exploitation, ambition, luck, government choices, private risk-taking and constant reinvention.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 26, 2026

The first modern excavation, led by the American Society for the Excavation of Sardis in the early 20th century, was "a really large-scale exploitation," Alexandridis said.

From Science Daily • Jun. 25, 2026

In its crudest form, this exploitation of 'phasing’ could be demonstrated by setting off two pendulum metronomes at exactly the same time and precisely the same speed.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall