exploitation

ex·ploi·ta·tion
E1X8P3L1O1I1T1A1T1I1O1N1
/ˌɛksplɔɪˈteɪʃn̩/

noun

The act of utilizing something; industry.

“the exploitation of natural resources”

CommonScrabble 21

Meanings

nounexploitation (countable and uncountable, plural exploitations)

plural exploitations

  1. countableuncountableThe act of utilizing something; industry.

    the exploitation of natural resources

    1 more example

    Whereas in the middle ages the idea of acquiring wealth was limited by a body of moral rules imposed under the sanction of religious authority, after 1500 those rules, and the institutions, habits, and ideas to which they had given birth, were no longer deemed adequate. They were felt as constraint. There were evaded, criticized, abandoned, because it was felt that they interfered with the exploitation of the means of production.

    1936, Harold Laski, “The Rise of European Liberalism”, in Collected Works of Harold Laski, London: Routledge, published 1997, page 20
  2. countableuncountableThe improper use of something for selfish purposes.

    the exploitation of children in beauty pageants

    1 more example

    "The second function is for seers who have used magic, but do not know about the second function. This criteria selects the informed while preventing premeditated exploitation of this function."

    2018 January 22, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive (webcomic), Comic for Monday, Jan 22, 2018
  3. countableuncountableThe act or result of forcibly depriving someone of something to which they have a right.

    Undocumented migrants are vulnerable to exploitation.

    1 more example

    The abolition of exploitation meant, in his view, not that workers should receive the equivalent of what they produced, but that the surplus value they do not receive in wages should accrue to society in the form of fresh investments, emergency reserves, payment for necessary 'unproductive' services, administration, etc., plus provision for those unable to work.

    1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume I: The Founders, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: powstanie (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 333
  4. countableuncountableThe marketing and promotion of a film.

    This territory continued to be the greatest field for the exploitation and distribution of our films non-theatrically, […]

    1928, Canada. Dept. of Trade and Commerce, Annual Report
    1 more example

    The difference is that obtaining increased financial input during the production phase of the film reduces the risk during the exploitation phase.

    2017, Finola Kerrigan, Film Marketing
  5. countableuncountableA genre of media focused on lurid depictions of topical social issues such as violence, sexuality and marginalized groups.

    It is here that we arrive at the main question of this paper: can an exploitation director be an auteur?

    2016 September 23, Pawel Aleksandrowicz, The Cinematography of Roger Corman: Exploitation Filmmaker or Auteur?, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, →ISBN, page 21
    1 more example

    […]certainly it is not an adventure story, either, as McKernan seems to suggest, an exploitation novel aiming to attract readers through the use of "the odd," "the perverse," or "the exotic."

    2013 June 29, Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka, Passion for Place Book II: Between the Vital Spacing and the Creative Horizons of Fulfilment, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN

Synonyms & antonyms

nounthe act of making some area of land or water more profitable or productive or useful

nounan act that exploits or victimizes someone (treats them unfairly)

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinexplicō“unfold, deploy”
  2. Frenchexploitation
  3. Englishexploitation

Borrowed from French exploitation, from exploiter (“exploit”), from Latin explicō (“unfold, deploy”). By surface analysis, exploit + -ation.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic اِسْتِغْلَال
  • اِسْتِغْلَال (istiḡlāl)act of exploiting
Bulgarian експлоата́ция
  • експлоата́ция (eksploatácija)act of exploiting
Catalan explotació
  • explotacióact of exploiting
Chinese Mandarin 剝削 /剥削, 開發 /开发
  • 剝削 /剥削 (bōxuē, bōxuè)act of exploiting
  • 開發 /开发 (kāifā)act of exploiting
Czech využití, vykořisťování
  • využitíact of exploiting
  • vykořisťováníact of exploiting
Danish udbytning
  • udbytningact of exploiting
Dutch uitbuiting, exploitatie
  • uitbuitingact of exploiting
  • exploitatieact of exploiting
  • uitbatenact of exploiting
Estonian ekspluateerimine
  • ekspluateerimineact of exploiting
Finnish riisto
  • riistoact of exploiting
French exploitation
  • exploitationact of exploiting
German Ausbeutung
  • Ausbeutungact of exploiting
Greek εκμετάλλευση
  • εκμετάλλευση (ekmetállefsi)act of exploiting
Hindi शोषण
  • शोषण (śoṣaṇ)act of exploiting
Hungarian kizsákmányolás
  • kizsákmányolásact of exploiting
Irish dúshaothrú
  • dúshaothrúact of exploiting
Italian sfruttamento, valorizzazione
  • sfruttamentoact of exploiting
  • valorizzazioneact of exploiting
Japanese 搾取
  • 搾取 (sakushu)act of exploiting
Korean 착취
  • 착취 (chakchwi)act of exploiting
Persian انتفاع, بهرهبرداری
  • انتفاع (entefâ')act of exploiting
  • بهرهبرداری (bahre-bardâri)act of exploiting
  • استثمار (estesmâr)act of exploiting
Polish wykorzystanie, wyzysk
  • wykorzystanieact of exploiting
  • wyzyskact of exploiting
  • spożytkowanieact of exploiting
  • eksploatacjaact of exploiting
Portuguese exploração
  • exploraçãoact of exploiting
Romanian exploatare, exploatație
  • exploatareact of exploiting
  • exploatațieact of exploiting
Russian эксплуата́ция, испо́льзование
  • эксплуата́ция (ekspluatácija)act of exploiting
  • испо́льзование (ispólʹzovanije)act of exploiting
  • примене́ние (primenénije)act of exploiting
Slovak využitie, vykorisťovanie
  • využitieact of exploiting
  • vykorisťovanieact of exploiting
Spanish explotación
  • explotaciónact of exploiting
Swahili unyonyaji
  • unyonyajiact of exploiting
Swedish exploatering
  • exploateringact of exploiting
Tagalog panghuhuthot
  • panghuhuthotact of exploiting
Turkish istismar, sömürü
  • istismaract of exploiting
  • sömürüact of exploiting
Ukrainian експлуата́ція, ви́користання
  • експлуата́ція (ekspluatácija)act of exploiting
  • ви́користання (výkorystannja)act of exploiting
  • використа́ння (vykorystánnja)act of exploiting

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with exploitation

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

exploitation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exploitation

MLA

“exploitation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exploitation. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “exploitation,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exploitation.

Source: exploitation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.