Home UK English exploit

Meaning of exploit in English:

exploit

Pronunciation /ɪkˈsplɔɪt/ /ɛkˈsplɔɪt/ /ˈɛksplɔɪt/

See synonyms for exploit

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verb

[with object]

  • 1Make full use of and derive benefit from (a resource)

    ‘500 companies sprang up to exploit this new technology’
    • ‘It claims entitlement to an unspecific open-ended incentive derived from exploiting a natural resource.’
    • ‘He said that it was like the old colonial attitude of exploiting a resource in an area but bringing the benefits back home to the ‘motherland’.’
    • ‘Some other countries exploiting their mineral resources are setting aside money to prepare for the day when the oil runs out.’
    • ‘The coastal State exercises over the continental shelf sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring it and exploiting its natural resources.’
    • ‘We are looking at exploiting other natural resources in the area, such as gold, such as phosphates, such as bauxite.’
    • ‘And unless we are careful while exploiting this resource, we might end up depleting it to unsustainable levels.’
    • ‘Currently, manufacturers are exploiting the natural resources with very low efficiency.’
    • ‘It also pays special attention to exploiting marine resources and marketing marine products.’
    • ‘One of the primary objectives of modern economic theory and free markets is to exploit finite resources at ever-quicker rates.’
    • ‘Regions in the east are able to exploit natural resources such as forestry to provide for prison labour.’
    • ‘Still it is a national resource and should be exploited to the full.’
    • ‘Can we stop over-using and exploiting the world's resources?’
    • ‘With 13.3 million inhabitants in 1600, Italy's forest resources were exploited to their limit.’
    • ‘This means pushing to the limit their traditional food crops as well as their already over exploited marine resources.’
    • ‘These boreal forest warblers all exploited that resource while it was abundant.’
    • ‘On the coast, the maritime villas that exploited the fishing resources of the lagoons and ponds still played a central role.’
    • ‘The interim government believes it can double oil production by 2010 if it exploits existing facilities and develops new fields.’
    • ‘And there are countless bacteria out there, just waiting to be commercially exploited.’
    • ‘Whelks are widely distributed, but are commercially exploited in only some regions.’
    • ‘Services that exploit the higher bandwidth available with 3G have to be marketed to consumers.’
    utilize, make use of, put to use, use, use to good advantage, put to good use, turn to good use, make the most of, capitalize on, benefit from, turn to account, draw on
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  • 2Make use of (a situation) in a way considered unfair or underhand.

    ‘the company was exploiting a legal loophole’
    • ‘That would eliminate some of the loopholes exploited by large, wealthy factory farms.’
    • ‘He feels commercial interests are exploiting the situation and selling parents the idea that they can buy things to substitute for time with their children.’
    • ‘With five minutes left the visitors had exploited the situation to score two converted tries to cut RI's lead to eight points.’
    • ‘Many private developers exploit the situation where the demand exceeds available space.’
    • ‘These people also know how to exploit legal loopholes and can often avoid official inspections.’
    • ‘Instead, by exploiting a tragic situation, I think they are trying to score cheap miles, and I firmly believe this will backfire in their faces.’
    • ‘The nationwide store has ruthlessly exploited a legal loophole.’
    • ‘The worm exploits a vulnerability in the software which was first warned about in May 2000.’
    • ‘They are cynically exploiting the fears and concerns that exist over the question of the immigrants.’
    • ‘Study your opponent, keep your defenses up and systematically exploit weaknesses.’
    • ‘Spam is one of the areas that the underworld of the internet are successfully exploiting for commercial gain.’
    • ‘The security hole could be exploited by malicious hackers or a future internet worm.’
    • ‘Worse still, when disasters occur they are ruthlessly exploited to advance the globalisation agenda.’
    • ‘Employers have exploited the situation to end strikes and press ahead with plans to cut jobs and working conditions.’
    • ‘"They have created the conditions that could be exploited by the terrorists, " he declared.’
    • ‘I will not exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience.’
    • ‘There is nothing, it seems, that can't be exploited for political profit.’
    • ‘Sporting activities must be organised so that they are for leisure and not exploited for profit or voyeurism.’
    • ‘Class hatreds were exploited on an unparalleled scale.’
    • ‘Software defects can be exploited on scale far larger than defects in physical products.’
    1. 2.1Benefit unfairly from the work of (someone), typically by overworking or underpaying them.
      ‘these workers are at particular risk of being exploited in the workplace’
      • ‘Nobody complained that the international capitalists were exploiting the workers.’
      • ‘Thirdly, the reason why the capitalist can exploit workers is simply because they have power over them.’
      • ‘The capitalist system exploits people everywhere.’
      • ‘The effect was to make it easier for the ruling class to exploit the peasants who formed the bulk of the population.’
      • ‘Another participant focused on the manner in which men exploited women at the work place.’
      • ‘Both groups are exploiting illegal immigrants for profit.’
      • ‘The ruling class is obnoxiously greedy, despoiling our planet and exploiting the people on it with a few bare restraints provided by popular pressure over the last century.’
      • ‘He yesterday lashed out at his treatment by the media, implicitly accusing them of exploiting him for financial gain.’
      • ‘Believed to have about 350 members, they see the EU as exploiting ordinary people and are against a European Constitution.’
      • ‘The illegal status lets employers get away with exploiting the workers through lesser wages.’
      • ‘We know he has made more than £100,000 from exploiting these people, but we suspect he has made a lot more than this.’
      • ‘To prevent workers being exploited, employee rights have had to be translated into eight different languages.’
      • ‘The salt pan workers are exploited and often suffer from poor health but get no protection since it is an unorganised industry.’
      • ‘Just because we can't see people being exploited, doesn't mean we aren't supporting this unjust system.’
      • ‘Politicians have exploited these unfortunate people for their own ends.’
      • ‘There have been numerous complaints of outdated labour laws leading to unscrupulous employers exploiting workers.’
      • ‘Then we have some members saying to us that a small number of employers are exploiting their workers.’
      • ‘You are British workers, also exploited by the capitalists.’
      • ‘Motorists are being exploited primarily for revenue purposes, rather than for traffic safety reasons.’
      • ‘I feel sorry for the elderly who are exploited in this manner.’
      take advantage of, make use of, abuse, impose on, prey on, play on, misuse, ill-treat, bleed, suck dry, squeeze, wring, enslave, treat unfairly, withhold rights from
      View synonyms

noun

  • 1A bold or daring feat.

    ‘despite a series of colourful exploits, his agents obtained little intelligence of value’
    • ‘It was from here that Captain James Cook, a local lad, set sail around the globe, inflaming every schoolboy's passion for adventure with his daring exploits.’
    • ‘Though they claim he supports the insurgency because of his ideological opposition to the occupation, they soon lapse into talk of daring criminal exploits.’
    • ‘In mythology and legend, a man, often of divine ancestry, is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for his bold exploits, and favored by the gods.’
    • ‘Astoundingly, death did not come sooner and through different means, given her daring exploits in America's leading big tops.’
    • ‘Here, their daring exploits will never be forgotten.’
    • ‘Although he looks back at his own daring exploits with remarkable detachment, he realises how captivating they are to other people.’
    • ‘McRae remains one of rallying's most insistent draws, fans still flushed by thoughts of his daring exploits behind the wheel.’
    • ‘In 1999 he realized that, for all his daring exploits, he had been keeping his back turned on the biggest adventure of all: building a company from scratch.’
    • ‘Only the movies and the daring exploits of aviation's record seekers seemed to offer any escape from the harsh realities of daily life.’
    • ‘They romanticized aviation and grabbed the headlines with their daring exploits.’
    • ‘In all the years I have been undertaking various exploits and adventures in numerous countries around the globe there is one thing I have never done.’
    • ‘This reality series captures the exploits and escapades of life on the road with the world's most unusual troupe of performers, The Jim Rose Circus.’
    • ‘At the same time, they were, and still are, fascinated by the exploits of secret agents and counterspies.’
    • ‘This series looks at the exploits of six great Gaelic football and hurling teams beginning with the Down football team of 1960 / 61.’
    • ‘Florence Nightingale is widely hailed as the founder of today's nursing profession, especially for her exploits in the Crimean War.’
    • ‘It has every thing the TV audience need, dramatic scenery, heroic exploits, a stage of passion and colour.’
    • ‘Here I was transported back to the mid 18th century, reading about the exploits of Southern African adventurers, when, lo and behold, our great city gets a mention.’
    • ‘The exploits, adventures and successes of the Mayo ladies over the past few years have unquestionably raised the profile of the sport.’
    • ‘History is sprinkled with tales of the exploits, achievements and leadership of young adults, even teenagers.’
    • ‘How did his wife feel about his adventurous exploits in the air after yesterday?’
    feat, deed, act, adventure, stunt, escapade, manoeuvre, enterprise, undertaking, move
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  • 2A software tool designed to take advantage of a flaw in a computer system, typically for malicious purposes such as installing malware.

    ‘if someone you don't know tweets you a link, it's either spam, an exploit, or probably both’
    • ‘The compromised website hosted an exploit which then allowed malware to be installed on these laptops.’
    • ‘Exploit bundles are usually installed in hosting servers.’
    • ‘Once the website is visited, the modified exploits will affect the system software and additional malware will get deployed.’
    • ‘No matter what platform you're running, security software will help remove known exploits and block newly emerging ones.’
    • ‘A hacker finds a software exploit and you have to change all your passwords, or your personal data gets leaked.’
    • ‘Several web sites have already been disseminating malware using this exploit, triggering it with a mixture of HTML, JavaScript and Flash.’

Origin

Middle English from Old French esploit (noun), based on Latin explicare ‘unfold’ (see explicate). The early notion of ‘success, progress’ gave rise to the sense ‘attempt to capture’, ‘military expedition’, hence the current sense of the noun. Verb senses (mid 19th century) are from modern French exploiter.