lever
noun
a rigid bar that pivots about one point and that is used to move an object at a second point by a force applied at a third.
lever
1 American
[lev-er, lee-ver]
/ ˈlɛv ər, ˈli vər /
noun
-
levers
plural
-
Mechanics. a rigid bar that pivots about one point and that is used to move an object at a second point by a force applied at a third.
-
a tool, as a pry or a crowbar, for raising, moving, or opening something by leverage.
There's a small lever in my toolbox that'll be perfect for prying off these narrow moldings.
-
a handle or bar that is manipulated to operate, control, or adjust a machine, mechanism, etc..
Pushing down the lever on the left will automatically open the door.
-
a means or agency of persuading or of achieving an end.
Saying that the chairman of the board likes the plan is just a lever to get us to support it.
-
Horology. the pallet of an escapement.
verb (used with or without object)
-
levers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
levered,
past participle, past
-
levering
present participle
Lever
2
American
[lee-ver]
/ ˈli vər /
noun
lever
British
/ ˈliːvə /
noun
-
a rigid bar pivoted about a fulcrum, used to transfer a force to a load and usually to provide a mechanical advantage
-
any of a number of mechanical devices employing this principle
-
a means of exerting pressure in order to accomplish something; strategic aid
verb
lever
Scientific
/ lĕv′ər /
-
A simple machine consisting of a bar that pivots on a fixed support, or fulcrum, and is used to transmit torque. A force applied by pushing down on one end of the lever results in a force pushing up at the other end. If the fulcrum is not positioned in the middle of the lever, then the force applied to one end will not yield the same force on the other, since the torque must be the same on either side of the fulcrum. Levers, like gears, can thus be used to increase the force available from a mechanical power source.
-
See more at fulcrum See also mechanical advantage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
leversimple
-
leverssimple
-
have leveredperfect
-
has leveredperfect
-
am leveringprogressive
-
are leveringprogressive
-
is leveringprogressive
-
have been leveringperfect progressive
-
has been leveringperfect progressive
Past
-
leveredsimple
-
had leveredperfect
-
was leveringprogressive
-
were leveringprogressive
-
had been leveringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lever
1250–1300; Middle English levere, levour for *lever < Anglo-French; Old French levier, equivalent to lev ( er ) to lift (< Latin levāre to lighten, lift, verbal derivative of levis light) + -ier -ier 2
Explanation
A lever is a handle, sticking out at an angle, that allows you to operate a machine or close a door. When you pull the lever of a voting booth, you both cast your ballot and open the curtain. All kinds of things — particularly machines — have levers. The word is also used to describe anything that you are able to use to move or influence someone else: think leverage. A headline in The New York Times said the government would use its contracts with private companies as a "wage lever," meaning the government would try to improve wages by giving work and money to companies that paid well and provided generous benefits. Levers get things done.
Vocabulary lists containing lever
Word Generation Science - Energy
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Force and Motion (Mechanics) - Middle School
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Force and Motion (Mechanics) - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The Black Sea, with its trade routes channeling both Russian and Ukrainian exports through the Bosporus to the rest of the world, has been a critical lever in the war before.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
This has eluded neuroscience for decades, but the introduction of a new class of drugs for weight loss may have given us just the lever we need to understand it.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
He said: "I'm determined to pull every single lever we can to provide people with some room to breathe on the cost of living."
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
“For Iran, the Strait of Hormuz has become a strategic lever for deterrence, maintaining the regional balance of power, and reshaping the security rules in the Persian Gulf,” said Mostafa Najafi, a Tehran-based security analyst.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
“It’s the same lever as before,” Natalie called, even as she tugged back on her mom’s arm.
From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Kalshi has a ban on those practices and has banned markets tied directly to death and war, Lever said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
A sale would mark the biggest portfolio shake-up for Unilever since it was created nearly a century ago through the merger of Dutch group Margarine Unie and British soap maker Lever Bros.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026
Previously home to various insurance and finance firms, it made up part of the Square Mile's financial ecosystem, and was inspired by Lever House in New York.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2025
According to an analysis from Lever, an investigative newsroom, the private insurance giant Humana — one of the largest providers of Medicare Advantage plans — recorded $2.8 billion in profits in 2022.
From Salon ● Sep. 3, 2024
He smells like a perfect combination of Lever soap and Old Spice.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
"Players are becoming their own distribution levers, with some in particular taking a driving seat in terms of 'how I project myself onto the world' and building their own channels and audience," explains Kyle.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
It is unclear what kinds of federal levers Trump could pull to intervene in a state tax law.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
He said the hospital is “trying to turn it around from all the levers possible,” such as renegotiating contracts with insurers, trimming costs and advocating for more government funding.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
It brings the "levers of local economic growth and devolution together under one roof for the first time", said the government.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
Borelli treated the body as a system of levers acted on by the forces exerted by the muscles, and analysed geometrically how muscles in the human body acted in walking and running.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
U.S. notional volume of levered ETFs is about $90 billion, up from almost nothing a decade ago, per Goldman Sachs data.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
He’s also worried about how levered exchange-traded funds, particularly those based on single stocks, could cause problems for markets.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 10, 2026
But a well-worked wrap-around move off first-phase ball, levered open a corridor of space for Breach to streak away to score and suck the life out the stadium.
From BBC ● May 17, 2026
Finback’s founders levered their many industry and political connections to create a web of experienced executives and leaders that the firm can draw on to work with companies it backs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
His cast scraped along the rough rock face, but his arms were strong from Vola’s training, and he levered himself onto a shallow foothold.
From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker
Gerstner expressed concerns that investors are “layering up” right now, noting that “there are 14 exchange-traded funds launching on the day of the SpaceX IPO,” some of which are aimed at levering returns.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 8, 2026
If it is to play a game-changing role in levering in private investment, its £8.3bn funding over five years will have a lot of heavy lifting to do.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2024
By employing bioinformatics analyses and levering diverse public datasets, the team validated the robustness of HK-CREs across 50 randomly selected healthy cell types, confirming the location of HK-CREs within the genome.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 5, 2024
The person briefed on Muscat’s confession said Muscat alleges Alfred broke into the car by levering open the rear-quarter window passenger side.
From Reuters ● Nov. 28, 2019
The Abbot worked feverishly, resuscitating, levering and pounding the prone form of Matthias.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
