Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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.

            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]

Source : WordNet®

exploit
     n : a notable achievement; "he performed a great deed"; "the
         book was her finest effort" [syn: {deed}, {feat}, {effort}]
     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: {work}]
     2: draw from; make good use of; "we must exploit the resources
        we are given wisely" [syn: {tap}]
     3: work excessively hard; "he is exploiting the students" [syn:
         {overwork}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

exploit
     
         A security hole or an instance of taking advantage
        of a security hole.
     
        "[...] {hackers} say exploit. {sysadmins} say hole"
        -- {Mike Emke (http://emke.com/)}.
     
        Emke reports that the stress is on the second syllable.  If
        this is true, this may be a case of hackerly zero-deriving
        verbs (especially instantials) from nouns, akin to "write" as
        a noun to describe an instance of a disk drive writing to a
        disk.
     
        (2001-11-24)