expose

¹ American  

[ik-spohz] / ɪkˈspoʊz /

verb (used with object)

exposed, exposing

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

• exposability noun
• exposable adjective
• exposal noun
• exposer noun
• self-exposing adjective
• unexposable adjective

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” ( pose ¹ ), replacing Latin expōnere “to put out, expose, set forth in words”; expound

Origin of exposé²

First recorded in 1795–1805; from French, noun use of past participle of exposer expose

Example Sentences

They then evaluated impulsivity by observing how well the flies could stop moving when exposed to strong airflow, which they naturally find unpleasant.

From Science Daily

An Anthropic spokesperson said the release was caused by "human error, not a security breach," and that "no sensitive customer data or credentials were exposed or involved".

From BBC

Anthropic is racing to contain the fallout after accidentally exposing the underlying instructions it uses to direct Claude Code, the popular artificial-intelligence agent app that has won the company an edge with developers and businesses.

From The Wall Street Journal

The scheme was exposed when 10 residents whose identities were used on these emails said they absolutely did not send them, calling the messages “forged.”

From Los Angeles Times

"Earlier today, a Claude Code release included some internal source code. No sensitive customer data or credentials were involved or exposed," an Anthropic spokesperson said.

From Barron's