Dictionary

exploit en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈɛksplɔɪt/
• ĕks'ploit

Etymology

From Old French esploit (noun), esploitier (verb).

Meanings

1. A heroic or extraordinary deed.
   • Hieronimo, it greatly pleaſeth vs, / That in our victorie thou haue a ſhare, / By vertue of thy vvorthy Sonnes exployt. c. 1587 (date written), [Thomas Kyd], The Spanish Tragedie: […] (Fourth Quarto), London: […] W[illiam] W[hite] for T[homas] Pauier, […], published 1602, →OCLC, Act I:
2. An achievement.
   • The first trek to the summit of Mount Everest was a stunning exploit.
3. A program or technique that takes advantage of a vulnerability in other software.
   • For example, you can create PE files that are valid PDF exploits or valid ZIP files, valid JPG files, and so on. 2015, Joxean Koret, Elias Bachaalany, The Antivirus Hacker's Handbook, page 148:
   • One of the more publicized cases that involved a zero-day exploit concerned the compromise of some U.S. military web servers. The attack involved exploiting a buffer overflow vulnerability in a core Windows component; […] 2004, Rob Shein, Zero-Day Exploit: Countdown to Darkness, Syngress, →ISBN, page xxi:
4. (Internet, broadly) An action or technique that takes advantage of the conditions of a video game to gain an advantage, or to disadvantage others.

Forms

Deriveds

anti-exploit · sexploit

Translations (87)

be по́дзвіг (heroic or extraordinary deed) · es vulnerabilidad (computing security) · es gesta (heroic or extraordinary deed) · it gesta (heroic or extraordinary deed) · de Exploit (computing security) · nl heldendaad (heroic or extraordinary deed) · fi hyökkäyskeino (computing security) · es proeza (heroic or extraordinary deed) · ru достиже́ние (achievement) · uk по́двиг (heroic or extraordinary deed) · es logro (achievement) · fr exploit (computing security) · sv stordåd (heroic or extraordinary deed) · eo heroaĵo (heroic or extraordinary deed) · fi sankariteko (heroic or extraordinary deed) · it gesta eroiche (heroic or extraordinary deed) · cmn 功勛 /功勋 (heroic or extraordinary deed) · it impresa (achievement) · hu hőstett (heroic or extraordinary deed) · el κατόρθωμα (achievement) · ru сверше́ние (heroic or extraordinary deed) · sv bragd (heroic or extraordinary deed) · it raggiungimento (achievement) · es instrumentalización (computing security) · sv bedrift (heroic or extraordinary deed) · sv hjältebragd (heroic or extraordinary deed) · mk подвиг (heroic or extraordinary deed) · pl exploit (computing security) · ro faptă de vitejie (heroic or extraordinary deed) · ko 위업 (heroic or extraordinary deed) · es heroicidad (heroic or extraordinary deed) · cmn 勛績 /勋绩 (heroic or extraordinary deed) · it risultato (achievement) · es proeza (achievement) · fi hyökkäystapa (computing security) · sv prestation (achievement) · nl exploit (computing security) · ru вредоносный код (computing security) · de Heldentat (heroic or extraordinary deed) · cmn 偉業 /伟业 (heroic or extraordinary deed) · ru эксплойт (computing security) · it prodezza (heroic or extraordinary deed) · it espletamento (achievement) · es exploit (computing security) · pt exploit (computing security) · be вы́чын (heroic or extraordinary deed) · ru взлом (computing security) · no bragd (heroic or extraordinary deed) · fi saavutus (achievement) · ar مَأْثُرَة (heroic or extraordinary deed) · da heltebedrift (heroic or extraordinary deed) · pt proeza (heroic or extraordinary deed) · fi hyökkäysohjelma (program) (computing security) · da bedrift (achievement) · es hazaña (heroic or extraordinary deed) · fi hyökkäyskoodi (computing security) · gd cleas (achievement) · pt façanha (heroic or extraordinary deed) · ko 공훈 (heroic or extraordinary deed) · fi urotyö (heroic or extraordinary deed) · fr exploit (heroic or extraordinary deed) · mi haumāuiui (heroic or extraordinary deed) · gd cleas (heroic or extraordinary deed) · ca fita (heroic or extraordinary deed) · bg по́двиг (heroic or extraordinary deed) · mi mahi rāwekeweke (heroic or extraordinary deed) · nl wapenfeit (achievement) · ja 偉業 (heroic or extraordinary deed) · io heroajo (heroic or extraordinary deed) · es empresa (heroic or extraordinary deed) · ro faptă eroică (heroic or extraordinary deed) · ca gesta (heroic or extraordinary deed) · el κατόρθωμα (heroic or extraordinary deed) · ru дея́ние (heroic or extraordinary deed) · ru по́двиг (heroic or extraordinary deed) · sv hjältedåd (heroic or extraordinary deed) · da bedrift (heroic or extraordinary deed) · ca proesa (heroic or extraordinary deed) · it gesto eroico (heroic or extraordinary deed) · mi rāwekeweke (heroic or extraordinary deed) · pl wyczyn (heroic or extraordinary deed) · it prestazione (achievement) · io prodajo (heroic or extraordinary deed) · es hombrada (heroic or extraordinary deed) · bg постиже́ние (achievement) · ru сверше́ние (achievement) · es hazaña (achievement)

exploit en · VERB

Pronunciation

• ĭksploit'
• (US) audio
• /ɪksˈplɔɪt/

Etymology

From Old French esploit (noun), esploitier (verb).

Meanings

1. (transitive) To use (something) to someone's advantage, such as one's own benefit or a society's benefit.
   • to exploit natural resources in a sustainable way
   • However, exploiting their 110mph capability will initially only be possible north of Bedford, pending an upgrade of the overhead wires between Bedford and St Pancras by Network Rail to make them suitable for use by electric trains at over 100mph. 2019 October, Tony Miles, Philip Sherratt, “EMR kicks off new era”, in Modern Railways, page 53:
   • The protests have alarmed authorities, and on Thursday night, they shut off internet and mobile access in the country, cutting the Iranian people off from the rest of the world. Rights groups have accused the government of exploiting the media blackout to carry out a brutal crackdown against protesters. 2026 January 13, Deepa Parent, William Christou, “Hundreds of gunshot eye injuries found in one Iranian hospital amid brutal crackdown on protests”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 24 Jan 2026:
2. (transitive) To make unfair use of someone else's labor, person, or property to one's own advantage.
   • Materialistic people who exploit others will come to a bad end.

Forms

Coordinates

abuse · take advantage of · misuse

Deriveds

underexploited · counterexploit · nonexploited · exploitability · exploitee · superexploit · unexploited · misexploit · sexploit · underexploit · exploitive · overexploit · exploiture

Synonyms

use · take advantage of · utilize

Translations (51)

pt explotar (use for one’s advantage) · es explotar (use for one’s advantage) · it approfittare (use for one’s advantage) · ja 搾取する (use for one’s advantage) · lt išnaudoti (use for one’s advantage) · he ניצל (use for one’s advantage) · uk експлуатувати (use for one’s advantage) · bg експлоатирам (use for one’s advantage) · ota صاغمق (use for one’s advantage) · fi riistää (use for one’s advantage) · ru пользоваться (use for one’s advantage) · gd dèan feum de (use for one’s advantage) · hu kihasznál (use for one’s advantage) · cmn 利用 (use for one’s advantage) · ca explotar (use for one’s advantage) · no utnytte (use for one’s advantage) · es instrumentalizar (use for one’s advantage) · nmn ǂgàa (use for one’s advantage) · sv utnyttja (use for one’s advantage) · es aprovechar (use for one’s advantage) · pt explorar (use for one’s advantage) · it avvantaggiarsi (use for one’s advantage) · sh израбити (use for one’s advantage) · gl explotar (use for one’s advantage) · ang brūcan (use for one’s advantage) · ro abuza (use for one’s advantage) · cmn 剝削 /剥削 (use for one’s advantage) · nl uitbuiten (use for one’s advantage) · bg използвам (use for one’s advantage) · io explotar (use for one’s advantage) · fr exploiter (use for one’s advantage) · sv exploatera (use for one’s advantage) · lv izkalpināt (use for one’s advantage) · ru эксплуати́ровать (use for one’s advantage) · it sfruttare (use for one’s advantage) · ar اِسْتَغَلَّ (use for one’s advantage) · pl wykorzystywać (use for one’s advantage) · de ausbeuten (use for one’s advantage) · da udnytte (use for one’s advantage) · eo ekspluati (use for one’s advantage) · lv izmantot (use for one’s advantage) · nl exploiteren (use for one’s advantage) · cmn 開發 /开发 (use for one’s advantage) · ro exploata (use for one’s advantage) · de ausnutzen (use for one’s advantage) · pl wyzyskiwać (use for one’s advantage) · az istismar etmək (use for one’s advantage) · fi käyttää hyväkseen (use for one’s advantage) · cs využít (use for one’s advantage) · cy gweithio (use for one’s advantage) · mi makihuhunu (use for one’s advantage)