exploit
1 Americannoun
verb (used with object)
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exploits,
present (3rd person singular)
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exploited,
past participle, past
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exploiting
present participle
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to utilize, especially for profit; turn to practical account.
to exploit a business opportunity.
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to use selfishly for one's own ends.
employers who exploit their workers.
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to advance or further through exploitation; promote.
He exploited his new movie through a series of guest appearances.
noun
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a flaw in hardware or software that is vulnerable to hacking or other cyberattacks.
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a piece of software that takes advantage of such a flaw to compromise a computer system or network.
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(in a video game) the use of a bug or flaw in game design to a player’s advantage or to the disadvantage of other players.
noun
verb
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to take advantage of (a person, situation, etc), esp unethically or unjustly for one's own ends
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to make the best use of
to exploit natural resources
Usage
What does exploit mean? As a verb, exploit commonly means to selfishly take advantage of someone in order to profit from them or otherwise benefit oneself. As a noun, exploit means a notable or heroic accomplishment. As a verb, exploit can also be used in a more neutral way that doesn’t imply selfishness: to make the best use of something, especially an opportunity, to create a profit or other benefit. But when the verb is applied to people, it is always used negatively. The noun form of the verb exploit is exploitation, and the adjective form is exploitative, as in exploitative practices. Example: I know you’re trying to live up to the exploits and success of your father, but exploiting your workers to maximize profit is not the way to do it.
Synonym Usage
See achievement.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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exploitabilitynoun
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exploitationnoun
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exploiternoun
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exploitableadjective
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exploitativeadjective
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exploitatoryadjective
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exploitiveadjective
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nonexploitableadjective
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nonexploitativeadjective
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nonexploitiveadjective
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unexploitableadjective
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unexploitativeadjective
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unexploitiveadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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exploitsimple
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exploitssimple
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have exploitedperfect
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has exploitedperfect
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am exploitingprogressive
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are exploitingprogressive
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is exploitingprogressive
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have been exploitingperfect progressive
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has been exploitingperfect progressive
Past
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exploitedsimple
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had exploitedperfect
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was exploitingprogressive
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were exploitingprogressive
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had been exploitingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of exploit1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English exploit, espleit, from Old French exploit, Anglo-French espleit, from Latin explicitum, neuter of explicitus “unfolded, set forth,” variant past participle of explicāre “to unfold, unroll, smooth, reveal”; see explicate
Origin of exploit2
First recorded in 1300–50; from French exploiter, derivative of exploit (noun); replacing late Middle English expleiten “to achieve,” from Anglo-French, Middle French espleiter, espleitier, derivative of espleit, esploit, expleit, exploit (noun), from Latin explicitum “matter settled, displayed,” noun use of explicitus “unfolded, revealed,” variant past participle of explicāre; see exploit 1
Explanation
An exploit is a heroic act or notable deed. The King Arthur legends are full of stories of the exploits of the Knights of the Round Table, including Sir Lancelot and King Arthur himself. This noun is from Middle English expleit, "outcome," from Latin explicitus, "unfolded, set forth." The verb exploit means to use someone or something, usually selfishly or for profit. Workers who are tired of being exploited by factory owners form unions that allow them to stand together as a powerful force.
Vocabulary lists containing exploit
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"If Booking.com's so-called sophisticated AI systems can't spot that 10 Downing Street is not a holiday rental, then it's no wonder scammers can exploit the platform so easily," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
But letting too much traffic in poses a reputational risk as criminals could exploit vulnerabilities to access confidential data, said Fletcher, who led the investment with David Kim, a vice president at Blackstone Innovations Investments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Such structures could later have helped insects exploit a wide variety of terrestrial microhabitats and may have provided an anatomical foundation for their enormous later diversification.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026
Those QQQ calls will exploit the “runaway upside we expect before the ‘Checkered Flag’ is waved to end the ‘AI Revolution’ Bull Market race,” Emanuel says.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
Selling slowly evolved into hustling because Sizwe saw all the angles and knew how to exploit them.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
Beyond his exploits in Sao Paulo's financial hub Faria Lima, high-flying Vorcaro invested in real estate, pharmaceuticals, textiles and even soccer.
From Barron's ● Sep. 5, 2026
Anthropic’s Mythos practiced deception, while OpenAI models swapped tips on a secret message board for future exploits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Tapping Travis Scott to play the Bard singing the tales of Odysseus’ exploits, for example, doesn’t merely reframe the role of ancient storytellers and poets as that age’s rappers.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
"After the Tartan Army's exploits in America you get to see one of our major cities represented to the world again."
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
Their officers shared a single large burrow and here he met some experienced veterans and listened with interest to their stories of Wide Patrols and other exploits.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
It just means that the relationship between Fed rate decisions and the stock market is far more complex than can be exploited by a mechanical market-timing model.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
The contractors, according to the grand jury, exploited this agreement to the hilt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
Robinson expertly exploited the movement on offer, relentlessly hitting a full length for his 5-51.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
But while survival itself is the focus of “Lion,” the “kill” is never exploited.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
It was Dick’s theory that such a gift could, under his supervision, be profitably exploited.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
Earlier this year, Anthropic introduced Claude Mythos, an AI model that is said to be very good at finding and exploiting security vulnerabilities.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
Nonetheless, Claude used "basic techniques, such as exploiting weak passwords and unauthenticated endpoints," the blog continued.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
His potential availability has alerted Arsenal, who are among the clubs to have internally explored exploiting the contractual impasse.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Whether the genre is romantasy or autofiction, making up stories often demands making up stories about real people — exploiting them — to serve a narrative purpose.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
I grew up thinking of strategy as finding weaknesses and exploiting them.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
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.
