Expose definition | Dictionary.com

ex⋅pose

[ik-spohz]

–verb (used with object), -posed, -pos⋅ing.

1.	to lay open to danger, attack, harm, etc.: to expose soldiers to gunfire; to expose one's character to attack.

2.	to lay open to something specified: to expose oneself to the influence of bad companions.

3.	to uncover or bare to the air, cold, etc.: to expose one's head to the rain.

4.	to present to view; exhibit; display: The storekeeper exposed his wares.

5.	to make known, disclose, or reveal (intentions, secrets, etc.).

6.	to reveal or unmask (a crime, fraud, impostor, etc.): to expose a swindler.

7.	to hold up to public reprehension or ridicule (fault, folly, a foolish act or person, etc.).

8.	to desert in an unsheltered or open place; abandon, as a child.

9.	to subject, as to the action of something: to expose a photographic plate to light.

—Idiom

10.	expose oneself, to exhibit one's body, esp. one's genitals, publicly in an immodest or exhibitionistic manner.

Origin:
1425–75; late ME exposen < OF exposer, equiv. to ex- ex- ¹ + poser to put (see pose ¹ ), rendering L expōnere to put out, expose, set forth in words; see expound

Related forms:

ex⋅pos⋅a⋅ble, adjective

ex⋅pos⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun

ex⋅pos⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. subject, endanger, imperil, jeopardize. 5. uncover, unveil, betray.

Antonyms:
2. protect, shield. 5. conceal, hide, cover up.

ex⋅po⋅sé

[ek-spoh-zey]

–noun

a public exposure or revelation, as of something discreditable: Certain cheap magazines make a fortune out of sensational exposés.

Origin:
1795–1805; < F, n. use of ptp. of exposer to expose

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To Expose

ex·pose (ĭk-spōz')

tr.v. ex·posed, ex·pos·ing, ex·pos·es

1. To subject or allow to be subjected to an action, influence, or condition: exposed themselves to disease; exposed their children to classical music.
2. To subject (a photographic film, for example) to the action of light.
3. To deprive of shelter or protection; lay open to danger or harm: troops that were exposed to gunfire.
4. To make known (something discreditable).
5. To reveal the guilt or wrongdoing of: expose a criminal.
To make visible: Cleaning exposed the grain of the wood. See Synonyms at show.
1. To make known (something discreditable).
2. To reveal the guilt or wrongdoing of: expose a criminal.
To engage in indecent exposure of (oneself).

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

ex·po·sé (ěk'spō-zā')

An exposure or a revelation of something discreditable.
A formal exposition of facts.

[French, past participle of exposer, to expose, from Old French; see expose.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Expose

Ex*pose"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Exposed; p. pr. & vb. n. Exposing.] [F. exposer; pref. ex- (L. ex out)+poser to place. See Pose, v. t.]

1. To set forth; to set out to public view; to exhibit; to show; to display; as, to expose goods for sale; to expose pictures to public inspection.

Those who seek truth only, freely expose their principles to the test, and are pleased to have them examined. --Locke.

2. 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; as, to expose one's self to the heat of the sun, or to cold, insult, danger, or ridicule; to expose an army to destruction or defeat.

Expose thyself to feel what wretches feel. --Shak.

3. 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; as, to expose the faults of a neighbor.

You only expose the follies of men, without arraigning their vices. --Dryden.

4. To disclose the faults or reprehensible practices of; to lay open to general condemnation or contempt by making public the character or arts of; as, to expose a cheat, liar, or hypocrite.

Language Translation for : Expose

Spanish: exponer,

German: aussetzen,

Japanese: さらす

More Translations »

expose (v.)

1474, "to leave without shelter or defense," from M.Fr. exposer "lay open, set forth," from L. exponere "set forth" (see expound), altered by confusion with poser "to place, lay down" (see pose). The use of exposure in the sense of "situation with regard to sun or weather" is from 1664. Exposé "display of discreditable information" was introduced 1803 as a Fr. word (it is the pp. of Fr. exposer); earliest use was in ref. to Napoleon.

Main Entry: ex·pose
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: ex·posed; ex·pos·ing
1 : to subject to risk from a harmful action or condition: as a : to make (one) open to liability or financial loss b : to leave (a child) uncared-for and lacking shelter from the elements
2 : to cause to be visible or open to view: as a : to offer publicly for sale expose for sale at public auction —Detroit Law Journal> b : to purposely uncover (one's private body parts) or leave open to view in a place or situation in which such conduct is likely to be deemed offensive or indecent esp. as set forth by statute —see also INDECENT EXPOSURE

Main Entry: ex·pose
Pronunciation: ik-'spOz
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: ex·posed; ex·pos·ing
1 : to make liable to or accessible to something (as a disease or environmental conditions) that may have a detrimental effect exposed to diphtheria>
2 : to lay open to view: as a : to conduct (oneself) as an exhibitionist b : to reveal (a bodily part) especially by dissection

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