DictionaryAI

exposure

noun
ik-SPOH-zhur/ɪkˈspoʊ.ʒɚ/Sayik-SPOH-zhuhUK/ɪkˈspəʊ.ʒə(ɹ)/AUS/ɪkˈspəʉ.ʒə(ɹ)/

Pluralexposures (some meanings)

9 meanings of exposure

Practice

  1. 1
    noununcountable
    The condition of being uncovered, open to view, or left without protection.

    The climbers' exposure on the open ridge alarmed the rescue team.

    Removing the insulation increased the panel's exposure to accidental contact.

    Similarvulnerability

    Oppositeprotection, shelter

    Note

    Built from expose plus the noun ending -ure, this is the broadest meaning: being open to whatever is out there. It nearly always takes to (exposure to chemicals, to sunlight, to a new language), and the to-phrase sets the tone. Harmful things you limit and useful ones, like a language, you seek out, so the word itself is neither good nor bad.

  2. 2
    noununcountable
    A lack of protection from cold, rain, wind, or other harsh weather.

    Two shepherds died of exposure after the blizzard trapped them on the mountain.

    Prolonged exposure to the desert heat left the travelers severely dehydrated.

    Note

    Here the danger is the weather itself, and the word usually arrives in one fixed phrase: to die of exposure. No to-phrase follows, because cold, wet and wind are understood. Add one and the meaning drifts back toward the general state, as in exposure to the desert heat. As a cause of death it is stated flatly, with nothing more needed.

  3. 3
    nouncountable or uncountable
    The act of bringing something hidden to light, especially a scandal or secret wrongdoing.

    The exposure of the bribery scheme led to several arrests.

    Investigative journalists devoted months to the exposure of the company's fraud.

    Similarrevelation, disclosure, unmasking, uncovering

    Oppositeconcealment

  4. 4
    nouncountable or uncountable
    The condition of being at risk of financial loss, such as on a loan or investment.

    The firm cut its exposure to emerging markets after the currency crisis.

    Hedging strategies are designed to limit a portfolio's exposure to interest-rate swings.

    Similarvulnerability, risk

  5. 5
    nouncountable or uncountable
    The direction in which a place faces, and what it is open to, such as the sun, sky, or a view.

    The apartment's western exposure floods the living room with afternoon light.

    Gardeners prize a plot with a southern exposure for its long hours of sun.

    Similaraspect, orientation

  6. 6
    nouncountable or uncountable
    A single instance of taking a photograph, when the camera's shutter opens to capture an image.

    He carefully composed each exposure to make the most of the dim light.

    Old cameras allowed only twenty-four exposures per roll.

    Similarshot, frame, photograph, picture

    Note

    A photographer's word for the moment light is let in, and a countable one. A roll of film holds a fixed number of exposures, and you can take one or several of the same scene. The same word names the exposed piece of film that results, so "a ruined exposure" may mean a bad shot or damaged film. The verb, usually take or cut, tells them apart.

  7. 7
    nouncountable or uncountable
    The amount of sun, wind, and other weather that a particular place receives.

    The vineyard's sunny exposure produces grapes with high sugar content.

    Choosing plants suited to a site's exposure prevents wind and sun damage.

    Similaraspect

    Note

    Growers use this to judge a site before planting: how much sun it gets and how hard the wind strikes it. It differs from the direction a place faces by measuring quantity rather than orientation. A southern exposure tells you which way a plot looks, while a site's exposure tells you how much weather it takes, and plants are chosen to match it.

  8. 8
    nouncountable or uncountable
    The settings used for a photograph, namely the shutter time and the lens aperture, or f-number.

    He recorded the exposure, a thirtieth of a second at f/8, beside each frame.

    Matching the exposure to the bright snow prevented the image from washing out.

    Note

    Two numbers make up this exposure, not one: how long the shutter stays open and the lens's f-number, written as a pair such as a thirtieth at f/8. Because the two settings together govern how much light reaches the film, photographers treat them as a single decision. They speak of choosing, setting or recording an exposure, and of matching it to the scene.

  9. 9
    nouncountable or uncountable
    The section of photographic film that has been struck by light to record an image.

    The technician cut each exposure from the developed strip and labeled it.

    A scratched exposure ruined an otherwise perfect series of portraits.

    Similarframe, negative

Practice

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Origin

Formed from the verb "expose" combined with the suffix "-ure".