leveraged

adjective

lev·​er·​aged ˈle-və-rijd 

ˈlē-;

ˈlev-rijd, 

ˈlēv-

1

: having a high proportion of debt relative to equity

2

of the purchase of a company : made with borrowed money that is secured by the assets of the company bought

a leveraged buyout

Examples of leveraged in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Democrats have also struggled to combat the criticism — leveraged time and again by their Republican competitors — that their party has failed for years to solve California’s most substantial problems, and deserves to be ousted from power. —Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2026

Both deals were heavily criticized as over-leveraged at the time. —Joseph M. Singer, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2026

Bianco noted many issuers are focused on their leverage ratios and interest coverage, and there is more focus on refinancing in the market than on speculative on M&A and leveraged buyout issuance, with the latter having moved more to the private side of the bond market. —Krysta Escobar, CNBC, 22 May 2026

Early users borrowed against long positions, leveraged exposure and arbitraged yields. —Benedetto Biondi, Forbes.com, 8 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1953, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing leveraged

• leveraged buyout