exploit

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɛksplɔɪt/ (noun); /ɪksˈplɔɪt/ (verb)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English espleit, borrowed from Anglo-Norman espleit and Old French esploit (“deed, achievement, profit”) (modern French exploit),^[2][3][4][5] from Latin explicitum (“a thing settled, ended, displayed”), the neuter of explicitus, past participle of explicō (“to unfold”),^[2][4][6][7] perhaps through a Gallo-Romance form Vulgar Latin *explictum.^[8][9] The spelling exploit was adopted from French during the 15th century.^[2] The verb is inherited from Middle English espleiten, from esploitier (“to accomplish, carry out”).^[4][7][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Speed, progress, a favourable outcome: about 1300, in the Childhood of Jesus;^[3] Barnhart's first sense is the outcome of an action.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Ayto describes the sense moving from "unfolding" through "bringing out, development" and "advantage, success" to "achievement".^[9] The early success sense led to an attempt to capture a place (1483 to 1692) and to a project or undertaking (about 1425),^[3][10] and then to a daring deed or feat, especially in war, also from about 1425, in Lydgate.^[3] The verb, first "to accomplish" (about 1400), took the sense "to use selfishly" by 1838, from French, perhaps through its use of working mines;^[4][11] compare exploitation.^[4] In computing, an exploit is a way of taking advantage of a flaw in software, from 1994.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1300 – success, progress (obsolete).^[3]
• c. 1400 – the verb, to accomplish.^[4]
• c. 1425 – a project; a feat.^[3]
• by 1838 – the verb, to use selfishly.^[4]
• 1994 – a software exploit.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A bold or daring feat.
2. (computing) A program or technique that takes advantage of a vulnerability in software.

Verb

1. To make full use of a resource or opportunity.
2. To take unfair advantage of someone for one's own ends.

Word family

• exploitability
• exploitable
• exploiter
• exploitative
• exploitive
• overexploit
• underexploited
• unexploited

Related words

• exploitation
• explicit
• explicate
• ply

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
10. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press