exfiltrate

verb

ex·​fil·​trate eks-ˈfil-ˌtrāt 

ˈeks-(ˌ)fil-

exfiltrated; exfiltrating

transitive verb

1

: to remove (someone) furtively from a hostile area

Kublinski avoided detection. He was exfiltrated from Poland, with his family, only after being compromised by a leak from the U.S. government.

—Radek Sikorski

2

: to steal (sensitive data) from a computer (as with a flash drive)

intransitive verb

: to escape from a hostile area

exfiltration

ˌeks-(ˌ)fil-ˈtrā-shən 

noun

Examples of exfiltrate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The attack can also be honed to fail an existing passkey and trick a user into registering a new one, which can then be stolen and exfiltrated from the device. —Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2025

Once inside, the attackers exfiltrate sensitive data and deploy additional backdoors that provide persistent access for future use. —Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 23 July 2025

Rather than trying to scrape and exfiltrate personal data, a phishing attack simply tricks the user into giving away sensitive credentials. —PC Magazine, 20 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from exfiltration, from ex- entry 1 + (in)filtration

First Known Use

1947, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for exfiltrate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• adsorbate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate