lever

1 of 2

noun

le·​ver ˈle-vər How to pronounce lever (audio) ˈlē- How to pronounce lever (audio)
1
a
: a bar used for prying or dislodging something
b
: an inducing or compelling force : tool
use food as a political leverTime
2
a
: a rigid piece that transmits and modifies force or motion when forces are applied at two points and it turns about a third
specifically : a rigid bar used to exert a pressure or sustain a weight at one point of its length by the application of a force at a second and turning at a third on a fulcrum
b
: a projecting piece by which a mechanism (see mechanism sense 1) is operated or adjusted

Illustration of lever

Illustration of lever
  • lever 2a

lever

2 of 2

verb

levered; levering ˈle-və-riŋ How to pronounce lever (audio)
ˈlē-;
ˈlev-riŋ,
ˈlēv-

transitive verb

1
: to pry, raise, or move with or as if with a lever
2
: to operate (a device) in the manner of a lever

Examples of lever in a Sentence

Noun They used their money as a lever to gain political power. Verb He levered the rock out of the hole. the workers used crowbars to lever the heavy stone block into its new position
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Three levers to pull for profitable growth Carmakers earn their profits through three key levers. Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 23 Mar. 2024 But the Warriors don’t have many levers to pull at this point. Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 19 Mar. 2024 History hangs heavy over Germany as well — the Nazis used elections to seize the levers of the state and shape an authoritarian system. Erika Solomon, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024 The office politics were complicated; partly to avoid being used as a lever to force Shawn out, Whitworth took the Atlantic job and moved to Boston. Ian Frazier, The New Yorker, 12 Mar. 2024 At the time, F1 cars still used a manual transmission, somewhat like a motorcycle where the driver would click up and down the gear range rather than moving a lever on a manual car. Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2024 Despite the wheel rotating only once every four years, a lever is used to sample the notches and steps. Bhanu Chopra, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 Both men were bought in the summer of 2022, which saw president Joan Laporta pull his famous 'economic levers', and famously turned down Premier PINC -0.1% League giants Chelsea in separate approaches made by the Blues' then-new owner Todd Boehly. Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024 Every design choice seems handed down through millennia of alternative human history, from arcane hieroglyphics to a slew of creative masks and veils meant to conceal the faces of those manipulating the levers of power, nearly all of them women. Peter Debruge, Variety, 21 Feb. 2024
Verb
Wall Street has 2 Holds and 2 Sells on USAC units—the MLP is heavily levered, and high levels of investment will impede its ability to de-lever in the short term. Brett Owens, Forbes, 11 Feb. 2024 Laboriously, the regime of physical therapy trained him to lever himself from wheelchair to bed or lavatory and back, and even, for a few fearful steps, to walk with a cane. Colin Thubron, The New York Review of Books, 19 Jan. 2023 The trades, in some cases, have been levered 50-to-1, according to two of the people. Sonali Basak, Fortune, 26 May 2023 Boko Haram, the jihadist group that kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in 2014, igniting the global #BringBackOurGirls campaign, released a video claiming credit for the Katsina kidnapping, which officials later said was an attempt to lever influence over negotiations. Joe Parkinson, WSJ, 2 Mar. 2021 And the second is levered door handles. Dirk Sutro, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2023 This machine came mostly assembled, but the tube frame that all the controls are mounted onto needed to be unfolded and levered into place, and then secured with bolts. Cai Cramer, Peoplemag, 17 Feb. 2023 Unfortunately for Putin, besides the Cassandra-like handwringing of some misguided media commentators, there remains little evidence that his efforts to lever energy as the wedge to divide civil society are paying any concrete dividends. Steven Tian, Fortune, 25 July 2022 If so, squeeze the brake lever several times to see if the pistons retract. Joe Lindsey, Outside Online, 3 June 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lever.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French levier, lever, from lever to raise, from Latin levare, from levis light in weight — more at light

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1876, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of lever was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near lever

Cite this Entry

“Lever.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lever. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

lever

1 of 2 noun
1
: a bar used to pry or move something
2
: a stiff bar for applying a force (as for lifting a weight) at one point of its length by effort at a second point and turning at a third point on a fulcrum
3
: a bar or rod used to run or adjust something
a gearshift lever

lever

2 of 2 verb
levered; levering ˈlev-(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce lever (audio)
ˈlēv-
: to pry, raise, or move with a lever
Etymology

Noun

Middle English lever "bar for prying," from early French levier (same meaning), from lever (verb) "to raise," from Latin levare "to raise" — related to elevate

More from Merriam-Webster on lever

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