exploit

1 an act of notable skill, strength, or cleverness the fanciful exploits of the giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan Synonyms deed, feat, number, stunt, tour de force, trickRelated Words accomplishment, achievement, attainment, coup, success, triumph; adventure; performance

2 something done by someone once famed as an actor, John Wilkes Booth is now remembered for a single exploit, his assassination of Lincoln Synonyms act, deed, doing, action, feat, thingRelated Words accomplishment, achievement, attainment; adventure, experience; emprise, enterprise, initiative, undertaking; handiwork, performance, work; stunt, trick; activity, dealing; maneuver, measure, move, operation, procedure, proceeding, step, tactic; coaction

3 an exciting or noteworthy event that one experiences firsthand a memoir recounting three decades of exploits as a roving foreign correspondent for TV news Synonyms emprise, experience, adventure, gest (or geste), happening, timeRelated Words escapade, lark, ploy; act, action, deed, doing, feat; episode, occasion; baptism, ordeal, test, trial, tribulation; enterprise, risk, venture; expedition, exploration, mission, performance, quest, stuntNear Antonyms bore, bummer, bust, downer, drag

1 to take unfair advantage of the type of person who exploits a friend's good nature by constantly sponging off of him Synonyms abuse, capitalize (on), cash in (on), impose (on or upon), leverage, milk, pimp, play (on or upon), use, work Related Words jerk around, manipulate, mistreat; bleed, cheat, fleece, overcharge, skin, soak, stick; commercialize, commodify Phrases trade on, walk on

2 to control or take advantage of by artful, unfair, or insidious means a politician more than willing to exploit any national tragedy for political gain Synonyms manipulate, play (upon)Related Words engineer, finagle, jockey, maneuver; beguile, bluff, cozen, deceive, delude, dupe, fool, gull, hoax, hoodwink, kid, shanghai, snow, take in, trick; intrigue, machinate, plot, scheme; arrange, contrive, devise, finesse, mastermind; cheat, chisel, con, defraud, fleece, gyp, hustle, swindle

3 to put into action or service it will be a shame if you don't exploit your artistic talent to the fullest Synonyms apply, employ, exercise, use, harness, operate, utilizeRelated Words handle, manipulate, wield; direct, run, work; cannibalize, recycle, reuseNear Antonyms ignore, neglect; misapply, misuse