Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To subject or allow to be subjected to an action, influence, or condition.
  • transitive verb To subject (a photographic film, for example) to the action of light.
  • transitive verb To deprive of shelter or protection; lay open to danger or harm.
  • transitive verb To make visible: synonym: show.
  • transitive verb To make known (something discreditable).
  • transitive verb To reveal the guilt or wrongdoing of.
  • transitive verb To engage in indecent exposure of (oneself).

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To place or set forth so as to be seen or known; lay open to view; lay bare; uncover; reveal: as, to expose a thing to the light; to expose a secret.
  • To place on view; exhibit; show: as, to expose goods for sale.
  • To present to the action or influence of something: as, in photography, to expose a sensitized plate to the action of the actinic rays of light.
  • To place or leave in an unprotected place or state; specifically, to abandon to chance in an open or unprotected place: as, among the ancient Greeks it was not uncommon for parents to expose their children.
  • To place in the way, as of something which it would be better to avoid; subject, as to some risk; make liable: as, vanity exposes a person to ridicule; the movement exposed him to the danger of a raking fire in his flanks.
  • To make known the actions or character of; reveal the secret or secrets of; lay open to comment, ridicule, reprehension, or the like, by some revelation: as, to expose a hypocrite or a rogue; to expose an impostor.
  • To expound, as a theory.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To set forth; to set out to public view; to exhibit; to show; to display
  • transitive verb To lay bare; to lay open to attack, danger, or anything objectionable; to render accessible to anything which may affect, especially detrimentally; to make liable
  • transitive verb To deprive of concealment; to discover; to lay open to public inspection, or bring to public notice, as a thing that shuns publicity, something criminal, shameful, or the like.
  • transitive verb To disclose the faults or reprehensible practices of; to lay open to general condemnation or contempt by making public the character or arts of.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive to uncover, make visible, bring to daylight, introduce to
  • verb transitive to subject photographic film to light thus ruining it or taking a picture if controlled
  • verb transitive to abandon, especially an unwanted baby in the wilderness

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb expose to light, of photographic film
  • verb expose while ridiculing; especially of pretentious or false claims and ideas
  • verb abandon by leaving out in the open air
  • verb put in a dangerous, disadvantageous, or difficult position
  • verb remove all or part of one's clothes to show one's body
  • verb disclose to view as by removing a cover
  • verb make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret
  • verb expose or make accessible to some action or influence
  • verb to show, make visible or apparent
  • noun the exposure of an impostor or a fraud

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English exposen, from Old French exposer, alteration (influenced by poser, to put, place) of Latin expōnere, to set forth; see expound.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle French exposer ("to lay open, set forth"), from Latin expōnō ("set forth"), with contamination from poser ("to lay, place"). The Latin term is also the origin of English expound, via Old French espondre ("to set forth, explain").

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  • my plan got exposed by my parents

    March 9, 2007