fulcrum

[ fool-kruhm, fuhl- ]
See synonyms for fulcrum on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural ful·crums, ful·cra [fool-kruh, fuhl-]. /ˈfʊl krə, ˈfʌl-/.
  1. the support, or point of rest, on which a lever turns in moving a body.

  2. any prop or support.

  1. Zoology. any of various structures in an animal serving as a hinge or support.

verb (used with object)
  1. to fit with a fulcrum; put a fulcrum on.

Origin of fulcrum

1
1665–75; <Latin: back-support of a couch, apparently for fulctrum, equivalent to fulc(īre) to hold up, support + -trum noun suffix of instrument

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British Dictionary definitions for fulcrum

fulcrum

/ (ˈfʊlkrəm, ˈfʌl-) /


nounplural -crums or -cra (-krə)
  1. the pivot about which a lever turns

  2. something that supports or sustains; prop

  1. a spinelike scale occurring in rows along the anterior edge of the fins in primitive bony fishes such as the sturgeon

Origin of fulcrum

1
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 ]


  1. 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.