Ex*ploit" (?), n. [OE. esploit
success, OF. esploit, espleit,revenue, product, vigor,
force, exploit, F. exploit exploit, fr. L. explicitum,
prop. p. p. neut. of explicare to unfold, display, exhibit;
ex + plicare to fold. See Ply, and cf.
Explicit, Explicate.] 1. A deed or
act; especially, a heroic act; a deed of renown; an adventurous or
noble achievement; as, the exploits of Alexander the
Great.
Ripe for exploits and mighty
enterprises.
Shak.
2. Combat; war. [Obs.]
He made haste to exploit some warlike
service.
Holland.
2. [F. exploiter.] To utilize; to make
available; to get the value or usefulness out of; as, to
exploit a mine or agricultural lands; to exploit public
opinion. [Recent]
3. Hence: To draw an illegitimate profit
from; to speculate on; to put upon. [Recent]
In no sense whatever does a man who accumulates a
fortune by legitimate industry exploit his employés or
make his capital "out of" anybody else.
W. G.
Sumner.
