leveraged

adjective lev·er·aged \ ˈle-və-rijd , ˈlē- ; ˈlev-rijd , ˈlēv- \

Updated on: 7 Apr 2018

Definition of leveraged

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

Recent Examples of leveraged from the Web

This is corporate raiding of the 1980s variety—but it’s being done more quietly now, with staid professionals overseeing the takeovers instead of the more flamboyant leveraged buyouts of the Reagan years.

— alex shephard, The New Republic, "The Real Retail Killer," 28 Mar. 2018
But in the end, Toys R Us will go down as a cautionary tale in retail — an emblem of the dangers of leveraged buyouts and of strategic shortsightedness.

— sarah halzack, latimes.com, "How Toys R Us was doomed by a leveraged buyout and shortsighted strategy," 16 Mar. 2018
Companies targeted by leveraged buyouts are often further constrained.

— the new york times, cleveland.com, "Claire's, the teen jewelry chain, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy," 19 Mar. 2018
Such blowups in leveraged investments have occurred before, says Pravit Chintawongvanich, head of derivatives strategy at Macro Risk Advisors, in New York, noting that Long-Term Capital Management imploded in the 1990s.

— simon constable, WSJ, "A VIX-Related Fund Did Go ‘Poof’," 4 Mar. 2018
IHeart is controlled by Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners, which staged a leveraged buyout in 2008.

— emma orr, chicagotribune.com, "IHeartMedia, nation's biggest radio broadcaster, is said to plan bankruptcy as soon as this weekend," 2 Mar. 2018
Prices on leveraged loans have continued rising as investors pile into debt that is perceived as safer than junk bonds.

— Bloomberg.com, "Trump: 'I Don't Think You're Going to Have a Trade War'," 1 Mar. 2018
There is no reason that those positions must necessarily line up with support for Israel, but Mr. Trump leveraged culture war passions to try to bring them together.

— max fisher, New York Times, "Trump’s Hard-Line Israel Position Exports U.S. Culture War Abroad," 21 Jan. 2018
The Chinese government has cracked down on large, highly leveraged companies to reduce risk to the nation's economy.

— ryan faughnder, latimes.com, "China's Wanda to sell stake in film subsidiary to Alibaba," 5 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'leveraged.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.