leverage

1 of 2

noun

le·​ver·​age ˈle-və-rij How to pronounce leverage (audio)
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 advantageAlexander Wolff

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
Even a year after that exact thing happened — Silicon Valley Bank failed after depositor demand eclipsed the value of its assets — regulators haven’t addressed the core leverage issue. Allison Morrow, CNN, 8 Mar. 2024 Some of your Democratic colleagues disagree with you about this, and about the need to use more leverage with the Israeli government. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2024 Such arrangements are often negotiated independently, but only by songwriters with the leverage to demand them, or others generous enough to share them. Jem Aswad, Variety, 7 Mar. 2024 Maintaining this leverage is one reason the United States and the EU should be wary of economic decoupling from China. Max Bergmann, Foreign Affairs, 6 Mar. 2024 As Corbett enters the final year of his contract, the Panthers could look to extend him on a short-term pact to lower his cap number with leverage on their side. Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 4 Mar. 2024 Get online In an era where digital presence is key, leverage cost-effective digital marketing strategies. Virginia H, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 And that gives Japan some leverage in the chip industry. Lionel Lim, Fortune Asia, 2 Mar. 2024 But Johnson and his raucous House Republican conference have very little leverage to exact those spending cuts or policy wins. Jacob Bogage, Washington Post, 29 Feb. 2024
Verb
Another key finding is 92% of respondents said their organizations should do more to leverage financial and operational data to inform strategic decisions. Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2024 Lawmakers have cited concerns about the Chinese government’s ability to leverage its power over Bytedance to access sensitive user data. Timothy H.j. Nerozzi Fox News, Fox News, 14 Mar. 2024 The local actors hired to improvise based off a garbled script (also written by AI) wound up dishing on the disaster in interviews, and some have since leveraged their viral fame: that Oompa Loompa (real name Kristy Paterson) is selling Cameo greetings, for example. Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 13 Mar. 2024 This partnership allows for Big Loud Records to remain fiercely independent while leveraging their global distribution and resources, as needed, to best serve our world-class roster. Melinda Newman, Billboard, 13 Mar. 2024 The idea behind breaking down Vivendi into separate businesses is to help Bolloré and Vivendi shareholders seek a higher valuation for Canal+ and Havas and better leverage the growth of these assets. Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 8 Mar. 2024 Other duties include utilizing computing resources in researching and leveraging appropriate data management solutions. Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Mar. 2024 Farina leverages computation, including AI, to explore aesthetic possibilities that are mapped onto spaces occupied by entities and forces. The Arizona Republic, 7 Mar. 2024 Legend quickly leveraged his connections to the Latin music world to forge a bilingual kinship with Mafe. USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2024

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

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1830, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1957, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of leverage was in 1830

Dictionary Entries Near leverage

Cite this Entry

“Leverage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leverage. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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 How to pronounce leverage (audio)
: 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

More from Merriam-Webster on leverage

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