Meaning & use
exploit
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Meanings
nounusually plural
A daring, impressive or exciting act that people talk about.
Grammar: Usually plural: his exploits; stress is on the first syllable.
Patterns
- the exploits of someone
- tales of someone's exploits
The book tells of the explorer's daring exploits in the Arctic.
His exploits on the football field made him a local hero.
She loved hearing about her grandfather's wartime exploits.
verbtransitivedisapproving
To use someone or something in an unfair way for your own gain.
Grammar: Takes an object; stress on the second syllable: exploit workers.
Patterns
- exploit someone
- exploit someone's weakness
The company was accused of exploiting its workers.
Scammers exploit people's trust to steal money.
He exploited a loophole in the rules.
verbtransitiveformal
To make full and effective use of a resource or opportunity.
Grammar: Neutral and positive in this use: exploit an opportunity.
Patterns
- exploit an opportunity
- exploit resources
The country plans to exploit its wind power.
She knew how to exploit the new technology.
Farmers exploited the fertile soil along the river.
nouncountablecomputingtechnical
In computing, a program or method that takes advantage of a weakness in software to attack it.
Grammar: Countable in security talk: a zero-day exploit.
Patterns
- an exploit for something
- a zero-day exploit
Hackers released an exploit for the unpatched software.
The update fixed a serious security exploit.
Experts warned that the exploit was easy to use.
Word forms
| plural (noun) | exploits |
|---|---|
| third person singular | exploits |
| past tense | exploited |
| past participle | exploited |
| -ing form | exploiting |
Common combinations
- exploit workers
- Some factories exploit workers by paying very little.
- exploit an opportunity
- We should exploit this opportunity quickly.
- heroic exploits
- The poem celebrates his heroic exploits.
- exploit a weakness
- The team exploited a weakness in the defense.
- exploit natural resources
- The mining firm planned to exploit natural resources.
- security exploit
- A security exploit allowed access to the files.
Synonyms and how they differ
- use
- Use is neutral and has no hint of unfairness, while exploit often suggests taking unfair advantage.
- manipulate
- Manipulate suggests clever control of a person or situation, often in a hidden way.
- capitalize on
- Capitalize on is positive and means making good use of a chance, but exploit can be negative.
- feat
- Feat names a single impressive achievement, whereas exploits refers to a series of bold deeds.
Opposites
Word family
- exploitation noun
- unfair use of someone or something
- exploitative adjective
- treating people or resources unfairly
- exploiter noun
- a person who takes unfair advantage
- exploitable adjective
- able to be used or taken advantage of
Commonly confused: exploit or explore? exploit or exploit (noun vs verb)?
exploit vs explore
Explore means to travel through or study something new, while exploit means to make use of it.
exploit vs exploit (noun vs verb)
The noun is stressed on the first syllable and the verb on the second in many speakers' speech.
Practice
The investigation found that the landlord had ____ tenants by charging them illegal fees.
Choose one answer.
Exploited means took unfair advantage. Explored, explained and exported do not describe charging illegal fees.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “exploit”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.