Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Exploitation \Ex`ploi*ta"tion\, n. [F.]
   The act of exploiting or utilizing. --J. D. Whitney.

Source : WordNet®

exploitation
     n 1: the act of making some area of land or water more profitable
          or productive or useful; "the development of Alaskan
          resources"; "the exploitation of copper deposits" [syn:
          {development}]
     2: an act that exploits or victimizes someone (treats them
        unfairly); "capitalistic exploitation of the working
        class"; "paying Blacks less and charging them more is a
        form of victimization" [syn: {victimization}, {victimisation},
         {using}]