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  

/ ˈlɛv-, -vrɪdʒ, ˈliːvərɪdʒ /

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

Etymology

Origin of leverage

First recorded in 1715–25; lever + -age

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

When Aschenbrenner’s hedge fund unraveled last month, veterans on Wall Street saw it as the latest cautionary tale of hubris—another inexperienced, overconfident investor taking on too much risk with far too much leverage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

The haste of the transaction would seem to have given the buyers superior leverage, yet Walter negotiated a 25% increase on the $10 billion he spent on the team last October.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026

What leverage does Canada, which sells about 70% of its goods to the US, actually have in this spiralling trade dispute with its southern neighbour, who also happens to be the world's largest economy?

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

But longer-term, the heir to the throne has leverage over his brother.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

She clutches the keys tightly, and I realize they’ve become leverage in a power game.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Jung, the Korea Stockholders’ Alliance head, still wants regulators to delist the single-stock leveraged ETFs and devise rescue measures for individual investors who suffered deep losses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Rules intended to shield investors from compounded losses banned single-stock leveraged ETFs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

Heyward leveraged that platform season in St. Louis into an eight-year free agent contract with the Cubs worth $184 million, setting a franchise record.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026

Ellison’s proposed Warner Bros. takeover also will be heavily leveraged with nearly twice the debt that resulted from Zaslav’s previous deal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

In the wake of Hadiya’s death, Tina had leveraged her local contacts, encouraging Chicago business leaders and philanthropists to work with Mayor Rahm Emanuel to expand community programs for at-risk youth across the city.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

She returned to “Today” on April 6, determined to solve her mother’s abduction by leveraging her TV fame and coast-to-coast reach—the same lofty platform she worried might have drawn the attention of Nancy’s kidnappers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

He said GenAI workflows have now been used on roughly 300 Netflix titles, mostly in post-production, adding: "We're leveraging GenAI for really complicated shots and sequences."

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

“We aim to stay ahead by executing against our three areas of focus: delivering more entertainment value, leveraging technology to improve every aspect of our service, and improving monetization.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026

They’re asking the FTC and DOJ to investigate whether Netflix is leveraging its position in the subscription video-streaming market in ways that harm competition, creators and consumers.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 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

Related Words

• advantage
• bargaining chip
• clout
• weight