How do you use the word "exploit" in a sentence?

Q: How do you use the word "exploit" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "exploit": Employers sometimes exploit their workers. The country has resources, but can't exploit them.

Exploit Meaning

/ˈɛksplɔɪt/

Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

nounA heroic or extraordinary deed.

nounAn achievement.

Sentence Examples

Employers sometimes exploit their workers.

The country has resources, but can't exploit them.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms:

tap work effort

Antonyms:

None

CEFR Practice Quiz

The company tried to ____ the workers by paying them unfair wages.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

Some companies try to ____ legal loopholes to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.

Word Origin & History

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

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"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:

"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:

"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:

"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:

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