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.
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
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
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
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.
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One of the first things you do as a Mobil Oil trainee is you learn how to drive the tractor, turn it on, pull the lever.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026
The final scene after almost 90 minutes featured Colbert and McCartney going to the light box of the theater and pulling the lever to “off.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026
He said a tax on its rollout - a "minimum wage" for robots - or a lever that the government could pull if businesses wanted to use AI and automation technology was needed.
From BBC • May 4, 2026
Therefore, "the most immediate lever" for airlines to preserve their operating margins is to "pass on the increased costs to ticket prices".
From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026
When he pulled the lever, the sailor turned and the coin rolled into the whale's mouth.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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.
