Exposure means being in contact with something or experiencing it directly. When you have exposure to cold weather, you're outside in it long enough to feel its effects. When you gain exposure to new ideas, you encounter them and learn about them firsthand.

The word can refer to physical contact that might be harmful: too much exposure to sunlight can cause sunburn, and exposure to extreme cold without proper clothing can lead to hypothermia (when your body temperature drops dangerously low). In photography, exposure describes how much light reaches the camera's film or sensor. A photograph with good exposure looks clear and properly lit, while one with too much exposure looks washed out, and too little makes it too dark.

Exposure also means being seen or noticed by others. When a young musician gets exposure by performing at a big concert, more people learn about her talent. A company might seek exposure for its new product through advertisements. Getting exposure in this sense means having your work or ideas put in front of an audience, which can help you succeed.

When doctors talk about exposure, they often mean coming into contact with germs or diseases. If someone at school has chickenpox and you spend time near them, you've had exposure to the illness, which means you might catch it too.