to lay open to danger, attack, harm, etc..
to expose soldiers to gunfire;
to expose one's character to attack.
to lay open to something specified.
to expose oneself to the influence of bad companions.
to uncover or bare to the air, cold, etc..
to expose one's head to the rain.
to present to view; exhibit; display.
The storekeeper exposed his wares.
to make known, disclose, or reveal (intentions, secrets, etc.).
to reveal or unmask (a crime, fraud, impostor, etc.).
to expose a swindler.
to hold up to public reprehension or ridicule (fault, folly, a foolish act or person, etc.).
to desert in an unsheltered or open place; abandon, as a child.
to subject, as to the action of something.
to expose a photographic plate to light.
to display for viewing; exhibit
to bring to public notice; disclose; reveal
to expose the facts
to divulge the identity of; unmask
(foll by to) to make subject or susceptible (to attack, criticism, etc)
to abandon (a child, animal, etc) in the open to die
(foll by to) to introduce (to) or acquaint (with)
he was exposed to the classics at an early age
photog to subject (a photographic film or plate) to light, X-rays, or some other type of actinic radiation
RC Church to exhibit (the consecrated Eucharistic Host or a relic) for public veneration
to display one's sexual organs in public
the act or an instance of bringing a scandal, crime, etc, to public notice
an article, book, or statement that discloses a scandal, crime, etc
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
First recorded in 1795–1805; from French, noun use of past participle of exposer expose
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.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
On the one hand, that could expose me to sequence-of-returns risk, which seems a reasonable concern to me.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
So when things go badly inside the opaque world of many private schools, it can be left to parents, police, journalists and amateur sleuths to find and expose wrongdoing.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
Instead, it wants to expose the wounds that are driving its characters to look for love in all the wrong internet places.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Sharing of technology, including through open-source releases and research papers, may expose technical secrets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Dressed more casually than Whitby, he had his sleeves rolled back to expose a green inked dragon curling up his right forearm, its tail encircling the letters KAT burnt into his flesh.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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
It’s this exposé of societal absurdity and Meursault’s atheistic refusal to play along with pacifying notions of sin and redemption, that makes“The Stranger” a pinnacle of confrontational literature.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
In 1963 Mitford published “The American Way of Death,” an exposé of the funeral industry that turned her into a stateside celebrity, welcomed as a provocative guest on talk shows and recognized by cab drivers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026
Lydia says the exposé has been "hilarious" although her mother feels it is a "shame people will resort to that in a local pub quiz".
From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2025
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
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
“And then fire happens and it kind of exposes all those things that go on that should be taken care of,” he continued.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
Ultimately, the bill exposes the limits of the federal government’s ability to increase housing supply.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
When the river level drops, it exposes the lower branches of willows lining the banks.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
Patrick M. Mincey, a lawyer for the whistleblower, said his client has exposed how the bank systemically pressures personnel to approve “unqualified mortgage applicants.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Three retired police officers have spoken for the first time about the amount of trauma officers and staff are exposed to and the toll it can have on their mental health.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Jordan grapples with questions similar to those facing its gulf neighbors, all of which rely on the U.S. security umbrella that has exposed their nations to Iranian attack.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The likelihood of dental erosion in everyday life can also be affected by how often someone drinks a beverage, how long the teeth are exposed to it, and whether the drink contains sugar.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
Along the bank we were almost fully exposed to the sun, though the thick woods continued to stretch for miles around us.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
"You have to remember, particularly chat shows where the presenter's name is in the title, it's very exposing for them," he tells BBC News.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
A payout of that size would dilute Chey’s ownership grip on SK, exposing him to greater risk with activist investors or other outside pressure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
The aggressive investment products are tailored to pay out twice the profits of a single stock but also twice the losses, and have been criticised for exposing retail investors to market hype and volatility.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
Homes, schools, hospitals, and transport networks are struggling to cope with back-to-back heatwaves this summer, exposing how unprepared the UK is for climate change.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
Pong reached up and pulled off his cap, exposing his fuzzy scalp.
From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
