exploitation
- 1Improper use of something for one's own selfish gain.
Like a salesman talking a confused customer into a deal that benefits only the seller.
His exploitation of the tax loophole let him avoid paying his fair share.
The company's exploitation of the data breach for profit shocked its investors.
Similarabuse, misuse, manipulation
- 2The act of taking from someone, by force, something they are entitled to, or the condition that results.
Like a landlord who pockets the deposit that legally belongs to the tenant.
Labor unions formed to resist the exploitation of factory workers in the 1800s.
The report documented the systematic exploitation of migrant farmhands.
Similaroppression, abuse, mistreatment
- 3The act of making practical use of something, especially developing resources or land for productive ends.
Like turning a fast-flowing river into a mill that grinds grain for the whole town.
Improved technology made the exploitation of deep-sea fisheries possible.
The country's prosperity rested on the exploitation of its vast coal reserves.
Similardevelopment, utilization, use
Oppositeconservation
Note
The neutral, economic sense, and the one nearest the word's roots: French exploitation, from exploiter, ultimately Latin explicō, "unfold, deploy". To exploit a resource is to open out what it holds, such as coal seams, fisheries or land. Here the word carries no blame, unlike the "selfish use" meaning. In mining, agriculture and resource management it is the standard, unloaded term, and the surrounding context tells the reader which sense is meant.
- 4The commercial marketing and promotion of a film to draw audiences and maximize ticket sales.
Like a baker filling the street with the smell of fresh bread to pull customers in.
The studio's exploitation of the sequel began a full year before its release.
Strong word-of-mouth helped, but careful exploitation drove the opening weekend.
Similarpromotion, marketing, publicity
Note
Film distribution keeps the neutral force of the resource sense: exploitation is the commercial stage after a picture is made, when it is marketed and sold to audiences. Canada's Department of Trade and Commerce, in its Annual Report of 1928, pairs it with distribution. Finola Kerrigan's Film Marketing (2017) sets the exploitation phase against the production phase. The sensational "exploitation film" genre takes its name from this trade term.
Practice
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Origin
Borrowed from French exploitation, from exploiter ("exploit"), which traces back to Latin explicō ("unfold, deploy").