exploitation

noun

ex·​ploi·​ta·​tion ˌek-ˌsplȯi-ˈtā-shən 

: an act or instance of exploiting

exploitation of natural resources

exploitation of immigrant laborers

clever exploitation of the system

Examples of exploitation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The brothers later moved to Romania, where prosecutors allege the exploitation continued. — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2026

With humanity’s ecological interchange with nature subsumed and directed by capital’s endless circuits of accumulation, the exploitation of natural resources and the aggregation of waste ensues. — Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2026

The project gave a restricted frontier model to defenders specifically because Anthropic had observed that the same coding capability that finds software vulnerabilities for patching could, in the wrong hands, find them for exploitation. — Michael Flannery, Forbes.com, 4 Sep. 2026

The exploitation, rejection, and suffering Jean and Joan encounter along their journey doesn’t seem to faze them. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, from exploiter "to exploit entry 2" + -ation -ation

First Known Use

1795, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for exploitation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation