exploiting

American  

[ik-sploi-ting] / ɪkˈsplɔɪ tɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of utilizing something, especially for profit.

   More resources should be allocated to the exploiting of the local market by attracting more business to the region.

2. the act of using a person or thing selfishly for one’s own ends.

   When I saw the commercial, I was appalled at the exploiting of children's sorrow for corporate gain.

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adjective

1. using a person or thing selfishly or for profit.

   In late czarist Russia, activists began to galvanize workers and peasants against the exploiting landowners, industrialists, and state.

Other Word Forms

• self-exploiting adjective

Etymology

Origin of exploiting

First recorded in 1830–40; exploit ² ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun senses; exploit ² ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective sense

Example Sentences

Some investors are exploiting a yawning gap between how similar funds are valued.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

"The technology to replicate a person's face, voice, and mannerisms has advanced faster than the safeguards around it, creating a gap that bad actors are already exploiting."

From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026

Mythos — trained to perform deep, multistep reasoning at higher intensities than previous models — is exceptionally good at finding and exploiting vulnerabilities.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 18, 2026

The BBC has also discovered how some migrants are exploiting rules brought in by ministers to help genuine victims of domestic abuse to secure permanent residence more quickly than through other routes, such as asylum.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

Luckily, during my junior year, I’d discovered a bug in the school’s online library software, and by exploiting it, I could access any book in the school’s online library, including Anorak’s Almanac.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Related Words

• crooked
• fraudulent
• nefarious
• rotten
• shady
• unethical
• unscrupulous
• untrustworthy
• venal