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fulcrum

[ fool-kruhm, fuhl- ]
/ ˈfʊl krəm, ˈfʌl- /
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noun, plural ful·crums, ful·cra [fool-kruh, fuhl-]. /ˈfʊl krə, ˈfʌl-/.
the support, or point of rest, on which a lever turns in moving a body.
any prop or support.
Zoology. any of various structures in an animal serving as a hinge or support.
verb (used with object)
to fit with a fulcrum; put a fulcrum on.
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Origin of fulcrum

1665–75; <Latin: back-support of a couch, apparently for fulctrum, equivalent to fulc(īre) to hold up, support + -trum noun suffix of instrument
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fulcrum in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fulcrum

fulcrum
/ (ˈfʊlkrəm, ˈfʌl-) /

noun plural -crums or -cra (-krə)
the pivot about which a lever turns
something that supports or sustains; prop
a spinelike scale occurring in rows along the anterior edge of the fins in primitive bony fishes such as the sturgeon

Word Origin for fulcrum

C17: from Latin: foot of a couch, bedpost, from fulcire to prop up
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for fulcrum

fulcrum
[ fulkrəm ]

The point or support on which a lever turns. The position of the fulcrum, relative to the positions of the load and effort, determines the type of lever.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for fulcrum

fulcrum
[ (fool-kruhm, ful-kruhm) ]

The point on which a lever is balanced when a force is exerted.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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