Definition of "exploitation"

exploitation

/ˌɛksplɔɪˈteɪʃn̩/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural exploitations
1. The act of utilizing something; industry.
  Quotations
  Whereas in the middle ages the idea of acquiring wealth was limited by a body of moral rules imposed under the sanction of religious authority, after 1500 those rules, and the institutions, habits, and ideas to which they had given birth, were no longer deemed adequate. They were felt as constraint. There were evaded, criticized, abandoned, because it was felt that they interfered with the exploitation of the means of production.
  1936, Harold Laski, “The Rise of European Liberalism”, in Collected Works of Harold Laski, London: Routledge, published 1997, page 20
2. The improper use of something for selfish purposes.
  Quotations
  "The second function is for seers who have used magic, but do not know about the second function. This criteria selects the informed while preventing premeditated exploitation of this function."
  2018 January 22, Dan Shive, El Goonish Shive (webcomic), Comic for Monday, Jan 22, 2018
3. The act or result of forcibly depriving someone of something to which they have a natural right.
4. The marketing and promotion of a film.
  Quotations
  This territory continued to be the greatest field for the exploitation and distribution of our films non-theatrically, […]
  1928, Canada. Dept. of Trade and Commerce, Annual Report
  The difference is that obtaining increased financial input during the production phase of the film reduces the risk during the exploitation phase.
  2017, Finola Kerrigan, Film Marketing