ikˈspōz, ek- transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English exposen, from Middle French exposer, modification (influenced by poser to put, place) of Latin exponere to expose, explain, set forth (perfect stem expos- ), from ex- ex- (I) + ponere to put, place — more at position , pose
1.
a. : to lay open (as to attack, danger, trial, or test) : make accessible to something that may prove detrimental : deprive of shelter, protection, or care
expose him to the weather
expose troops needlessly
a coast exposed to severe gales
b. : to submit or subject to an action or influence
expose children to good books
think … they can arrest the fall of rain by exposing to it a boulder — J.G.Frazer
expose a man to new impressions
specifically : to subject (a sensitive photographic film, plate, or paper) to the action of radiant energy
c. : to abandon (an infant) especially by leaving in the open : desert
the foundation of lying-in hospitals and orphanages … kept the children alive, … prevented them being exposed — J.H.Plumb
2. : to lay open to view : lay bare : make known : set forth : exhibit , display
exposing a sun-tanned back
each had started exposing his views — F.M.Ford
the new display object is to expose the package — Printers' Ink
as
a. : to offer publicly for sale
all of which I shall expose for sale at public auction — Detroit Law Journal
— sometimes used with to
the markets at which the corn, the cattle, the wool … of the surrounding country were exposed to sale — T.B.Macaulay
b. : to exhibit (a religious relic or the Host) for public veneration
c. : to reveal the face of (a playing card) — used chiefly in games in which such exposure is contrary to the rules
d. : to conduct (oneself) as an exhibitionist
3.
a. : to disclose or reveal the faults, frailties, or unsoundness of : bring to light (as something criminal or shameful) : unmask
took a leading part in exposing the pretensions of this quack
has behaved like a cad and ought to be exposed — Kingsley Martin
expose a voting fraud
expose the abuses of the day — John Mason Brown
b. obsolete : ridicule , satirize
Synonyms: see show