exploit

Pronunciation

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Verb

Plain form exploit

Third-person singular exploits

Past tense exploited

Past participle exploited

Present participle exploiting

If you exploit someone or something, then you are taking advantage of it in a harmful way. Mostly, you exploit when you don't pay someone enough for their hard work.

Examples:

• Slaves were exploited for their free labor.
• Walmart exploits its employees by paying them minimum wage for their hard work.