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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

In July, the European Union accused TikTok of failing to protect children through account settings that can expose them to risks like cyberbullying and predatory behavior, putting the company at risk of a large fine.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

For starters, Medicaid is a needs-based health-insurance program, and does not expose beneficiaries to the high deductibles found in many private plans.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 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

Locatelli said food could expose a person's character.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

She warned Ruth that if “I meant to tell of it and expose them … she would swear it was a lie.”

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

FBI Director Kash Patel filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic on Monday, claiming the magazine’s recent exposé on his time as agency director was a malicious “hit piece.”

From Salon ● Apr. 20, 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

All the journalist took from the Louvre was material for an article, an exposé on the museum’s lousy security.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

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

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

The suit alleges that Kalshi, one of the biggest such markets, exposes New Yorkers to "serious personal and financial risk."

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

However, feeding near roads also exposes them to the danger of being struck by vehicles.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

The grandmother in the spotlight, a dyed-in-the-wool New Yorker named Renee, exposes Joshua to the joys of the Big City when he visits from the suburbs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

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

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

The bodies of two Belgian men who went missing in the Swiss Alps in 1992 have been discovered after being exposed by the melting of a glacier, police have said.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Human fat cells exposed to blood collected after moderate cycling also showed only small changes in gene activity.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026

The purported poll by Median Strategies, reported in the California Post and touted on social media by Mayor Bass last week, was later exposed as a sham by The Times.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

“Ballistic missile defense, as it was conceived, has just been exposed as something that doesn’t work that way in practice.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

The sand is never poured down the hole; the black powder and fuse sit exposed at the bottom.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

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

A crowd of 73,946 gathered around Shane Gillis last month to hear his jokes about exposing himself accidentally on Snapchat and looking like a junior-varsity football coach.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 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

For those developing AI tools which are designed to take actions on a person's behalf, there is a careful balance to be struck between harnessing their benefits and exposing their risks.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

The Nightbeast’s ears were long and pointy, pinned back, exposing the pink skin inside.

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega