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

The buyers accuse the company of exploiting them and pushing them to use Rocket’s mortgage company, even though the loan packages offered by Rocket were “disadvantageous” to the buyers, according to the lawsuit.

From MarketWatch

Buyers are also increasingly exploiting the restrictions on Iran to get the sanctioned oil at even deeper discounts.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Afar fossil challenges that assumption, indicating that from its earliest stages, Paranthropus was both adaptable and capable of exploiting a wider range of food sources.

From Science Daily

U.S. globalization has always been less about exploiting wage gaps and more about projecting management, technology, and innovation outward.

From Barron's

"He's good at exploiting weaknesses, but he backs down when he's punched in the face," Newsom said.

From Barron's

Related Words

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