leverage

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leverage

/ˈlɛv.(ə.)ɹɪd͡ʒ/
/ˈliːv.(ə.)ɹɪd͡ʒ/

Where it comes from

From lever + -age. The verb likely comes from martial arts/judo usage, where one would "use an opponent's leverage (i.e. their weight, height, centre of balance, etc.)" against them in order to defeat them.

noun leverages

uncountable, usually A force compounded by means of a lever rotating around a pivot. A crowbar uses leverage to pry nails out of wood.
Similar: mechanical advantage
broadly, uncountable, usually Any influence which is compounded or used to gain an advantage. Try using competitors’ prices for leverage in the negotiation.
uncountable, usually The use of borrowed funds with a contractually determined return to increase the ability to invest and earn an expected higher return, but usually at high risk. Leverage is great until something goes wrong with your investments and you still have to pay your debts.
uncountable, usually The debt-to-equity ratio. In such cases where there is a multiple capital structure the factor known as leverage comes into play.
Similar: gearing
uncountable, usually The ability to earn very high returns when operating at high-capacity utilization of a facility. Their variable-cost-reducing investments have dramatically increased their leverage.
Similar: operating leverage
uncountable, usually The distance of between an independent observation and other observations.

verb leverages · leveraging · leveraged

US, slang, transitive To use; to exploit; to manipulate in order to take full advantage (of something). They plan to leverage the publicity into a good distribution agreement.
Similar: exploit, use

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: purchase, tool, lever, crowbar, right-of-way, wand, harness, taps, harnessing, tap, mobilize, mobilise, mobilisation, mobilization, boost, unfreeze

Translations

Every language

noun force compounded by means of a lever rotating around a pivot

Español	palanca, palanqueo, apalancamiento
Português	alavancagem
Deutsch	Hebelwirkung, Hebel, Hebelkraft
Italiano	potenza, leveraggio, leva
Ελληνικά	μόχλευση móchlefsi
Русский	рыча́г ryčág

noun influence which is compounded or used to gain an advantage

Español	enchufe, palanca
Deutsch	Einfluss, verstärkter Druck
Italiano	influenza
Русский	рыча́г ryčág
עברית	הנפה hanafa

noun use of borrowed funds

Español	apalancamiento
日本語	レバレッジ rebarejji, レバ reba
中文	槓桿 /杠杆 gànggǎn
Português	alavancagem
Français	effet de levier
Deutsch	Fremdfinanzierungsgrad, Fremdkapitalaufnahme, Verschuldungsgrad, Hebelwirkung
Ελληνικά	μόχλευση móchlefsi

noun ability to earn very high returns

Español	rendimiento
Deutsch	Hebelwirkung, Hebel

verb use, exploit, take full advantage of

Español	aprovechar (se de), apalancar, palanquear
中文	利用 lìyòng
Português	aproveitar
Français	profiter (de quelque chose), exploiter, tirer parti (de quelque chose)
Deutsch	aushebeln, hebeln, wirksam einsetzen, voll zunutze machen, ausnutzen
Italiano	fare leva su, approfittare di, avvantaggiarsi di
Ελληνικά	αξιοποιώ axiopoió, εκμεταλλεύομαι ekmetallévomai
Русский	максима́льно испо́льзовать maksimálʹno ispólʹzovatʹ, применя́ть primenjátʹ, улучша́ть ulučšátʹ, оптимизи́ровать optimizírovatʹ, вы́годно испо́льзовать výgodno ispólʹzovatʹ
עברית	מינף minéf

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Cite this

MLA

"leverage." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/leverage. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

leverage. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/leverage

Chicago

"leverage." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/leverage.

BibTeX

@misc{leverage_2026,
  title = {leverage},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/leverage},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}