leverage

1 of 2

noun

le·​ver·​age ˈle-və-rij 

ˈlē-;

ˈlev-rij,

ˈlēv-

1

: the action of a lever or the mechanical advantage gained by it

2

: power, effectiveness

trying to gain more political leverage

3

: the use of credit to enhance one's speculative capacity

leverage

2 of 2

verb

leveraged; leveraging

transitive verb

1

: to provide (something, such as a corporation) or supplement (something, such as money) with leverage

also : to enhance as if by supplying with financial leverage

2

: to use for gain : exploit

shamelessly leverage the system to their advantage

—Alexander Wolff

Synonyms

Noun

• authority
• clout
• credit
• heft
• in
• influence
• juice [slang]
• pull
• sway
• weight

Verb

• abuse
• capitalize (on)
• cash in (on)
• exploit
• impose (on or upon)
• milk
• pimp
• play (on or upon)
• use
• work

Examples of leverage in a Sentence

Noun

The union's size gave it leverage in the labor contract negotiations.

The player's popularity has given him a great deal of leverage with the owners of the team.

I used the leverage of the bar and a wooden block to pry the rock out of the hole.

Verb

The company wants to leverage its brands more effectively.

a reality show contestant who's trying to leverage her 15 minutes of fame

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In December, as options to get RFK through the Senate started to narrow, Maryland’s leverage in the matter grew. —Meagan Flynn, Baltimore Sun, 26 Dec. 2024

Based on the amount of debt to revenue backing the bonds, MLB has the lowest debt leverage of the three major leagues Fitch rates, at 1.8 times. —Brendan Coffey, Sportico.com, 26 Dec. 2024

Verb

O’Kane will work with Noah’s development and creative teams to forge a slate of originals for brands, leveraging the indie’s relationship with sporting federations, having won an Emmy earlier this year year for its work with sports body UEFA. —Max Goldbart, Deadline, 16 Dec. 2024

For example, Salesforce leverages security to build trust with cloud computing customers, especially those handling sensitive information. —Pukar Hamal, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1724, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1971, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

leverage

noun

le·​ver·​age

ˈlev-(ə-)rij,

ˈlēv-

: the action of a lever or the increase in force gained by using a lever

Legal Definition

leverage

1 of 2 noun

le·​ver·​age ˈle-vrij, -və-rij 

: the use of credit to enhance one's speculative capacity

leverage

2 of 2 transitive verb

leveraged; leveraging

: to provide (as a corporation) or supplement (as money) with leverage