leverage

American  

[lev-er-ij, lee-ver-] / ˈlɛv ər ɪdʒ, ˈli vər- /

noun

1. 

   the action of a lever, 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.

2. the mechanical advantage or power gained by using a lever.

3. power or ability to act or to influence people, events, decisions, etc.; sway.

   Being the only industry in town gave the company considerable leverage in its union negotiations.

   Synonyms:

   pull, clout, weight, strength, advantage

4. the use of a small initial investment, credit, or borrowed funds to gain a very high return in relation to one's investment, to control a much larger investment, or to reduce one's own liability for any loss.

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verb (used with object)

leveraged, leveraging

1. to use (a quality or advantage) to obtain a desired effect or result.

   She was able to leverage her travel experience and her gift for languages to get a job as a translator.

2. to provide with leverage.

   The board of directors plans to leverage two failing branches of the company with an influx of cash.

3. to invest or arrange (invested funds) using leverage.

4. to exert power or influence on.

   It was Joe who leveraged her to change her habits.

leverage British  

/ ˈliːvərɪdʒ, ˈlɛv-, -vrɪdʒ /

noun

1. the action of a lever

2. the mechanical advantage gained by employing a lever

3. power to accomplish something; strategic advantage

4. the enhanced power available to a large company

   the supermarket chains have greater leverage than single-outlet enterprises

5. US word for gearing

6. the use made by a company of its limited assets to guarantee the substantial loans required to finance its business

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leverage Cultural  

1. The amount in which a purchase is paid for in borrowed money. The greater the leverage, the greater the possible gain or potential loss.

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Other Word Forms

• nonleveraged
  adjective
• unleveraged
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of leverage

First recorded in 1715–25; lever + -age

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Explanation

If you have leverage, you hold the advantage in a situation or the stronger position in a contest, physical or otherwise. The lever is a tool for getting more work done with less physical force. With the right leverage, you might be able to lift a heavy box. This refers to non-physical situations too: the power to move or influence others is also leverage. Since your boss has the power to fire you, that's a lot of leverage to get you to do what he wants. If your friend owes you a favor, you have leverage to get a favor of your own.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

leverage leveraged leveraging

The U.S. success in the Strait has lately gained Mr. Trump leverage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

"The company intends to leverage the momentum generated by its workforce restructuring program to expand its organizational and process realignment more quickly," it said.

From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026

Perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid offer up to 50 times leverage, well above the maximum levels allowed in the U.S.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026

BDCs that use leverage to boost returns can see amplified losses if credit risks increase which will cause net asset value to fall.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

I'll need to rig something to get a leverage advantage.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

Binance said hackers then leveraged the engineer's compromised computer and a compromised internal AI tool in October to gain control over two other engineers' laptops, and execute the next steps of the attack.

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

Some traders who made leveraged bets on a turnaround in chip stocks in October got burned.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026

Over those decades, tycoons have leveraged their fortunes to shape the state with their railroads, mines, newspapers, oil businesses and ranching and agriculture.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026

Previously, Samantha reported on distressed debt at 9fin, where she covered liability management transactions and corporate restructurings in the leveraged finance and private credit markets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

Morgan Stanley and Citigroup were now at 33:1, Goldman Sachs looked conservative at 25:1, but then Goldman had a gift for disguising how leveraged it actually was.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

“The supply-demand situation for buying businesses privately and leveraging them up has changed dramatically from what it was 10 or 20 years ago,” Buffett said in 2019.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026

McKinney has focused his campaign on lessening the city’s homelessness crisis by leveraging people into treatment, tackling quality-of-life crimes, and reducing the city’s out-of-control legal costs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

“All this underpins my conviction that we are better positioned than ever to win in the long run, leveraging AI to augment the strengths of the L’Oreal model,” Hieronimus said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

There are going to be exceptions to the rule, but oftentimes you see even these candidates leveraging social media and talking policy in a different way.

From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2026

It made sense, Gus leveraging his terminality to make my dream come true: The sequel was a tiny thing to die for, but it was the biggest thing left at his disposal.

From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green

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Related Words

• advantage
• bargaining chip
• clout
• weight

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