Exploits woman's breaking down (8)
I believe the answer is:
feathers
'down' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'exploits woman's breaking' is the wordplay.
'exploits' becomes 'feats' ('feat' can be a synonym of 'exploit'**).
'woman' becomes 'her'.
'breaking' indicates putting letters inside.
'feats' enclosing 'her' is 'FEATHERS'.
(Other definitions for feathers that I've seen before include "Coverings of birds' bodies" , "Aids to flight" , "growth of birds" , "Plumages" , "Covering for birds" .)