The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Exploit \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.
      [1913 Webster]

            Ripe for exploits and mighty enterprises. --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Combat; war. [Obs.]
      [1913 Webster]

            He made haste to exploit some warlike service.
                                                  --Holland.
      [1913 Webster]

   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]
      [1913 Webster]

   3. Hence: To draw an illegitimate profit from; to speculate
      on; to put upon. [Recent]
      [1913 Webster]

            In no sense whatever does a man who accumulates a
            fortune by legitimate industry exploit his
            employ['e]s or make his capital "out of" anybody
            else.                                 --W. G.
                                                  Sumner.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

exploit
    n 1: a notable achievement; "he performed a great feat"; "the
         book was her finest effort" [syn: feat, effort,
         exploit]
    v 1: use or manipulate to one's advantage; "He exploit the new
         taxation system"; "She knows how to work the system"; "he
         works his parents for sympathy" [syn: exploit, work]
    2: draw from; make good use of; "we must exploit the resources
       we are given wisely" [syn: exploit, tap]
    3: work excessively hard; "he is exploiting the students" [syn:
       overwork, exploit]

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (19 January 2023):

exploit

    A security vulnerability or an instance of taking
   advantage of a security vulnerability.

   "hackers say exploit. sysadmins say hole"
   -- Mike Emke (http://emke.com/).

   (2014-10-25)


The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):

exploit
 n.

    [originally cracker slang]

    1. A vulnerability in software that can be used for breaking security or
    otherwise attacking an Internet host over the network. The Ping O' Death
    is a famous exploit.

    2. More grammatically, a program that exploits an exploit in sense 1.