the action of a lever the mechanical advantage gained by employing a lever power to accomplish something; strategic advantage the enhanced power available to a large company: the supermarket chains have greater leverage than single-outlet enterprises - US word for
gearing 3 the use made by a company of its limited assets to guarantee the substantial loans required to finance its business
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
lev•er•age /ˈlɛvərɪdʒ, ˈlɛvrɪdʒ; ˈlivərɪdʒ, -vrɪdʒ/USA pronunciation
n., v., -aged, -ag•ing.
n. [uncountable]
v. [~ + object]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025n. [uncountable]
- Mechanicsthe action of a lever;
the mechanical advantage gained by using a lever. - power to act effectively or to influence people:has leverage with the police.
v. [~ + object]
- Businessto speculate in (invested funds) by using borrowed money to buy controlling interest in a company.
lev•er•age
(lev′ər ij, lē′vər-),USA pronunciation n., v., -aged, -ag•ing.
n.
v.t.
n.
- Mechanicsthe action of a lever.
- Mechanicsthe mechanical advantage or power gained by using a lever.
- power or ability to act or to influence people, events, decisions, etc.;
sway:Being the only industry in town gave the company considerable leverage in its union negotiations. - Banking, Businessthe use of a small initial investment, credit, or borrowed funds to gain a very high return in relation to one's investment, to control a much larger investment, or to reduce one's own liability for any loss.
v.t.
- to exert power or influence on.
- Bankingto provide with leverage.
- Banking, Businessto invest or arrange (invested funds) using leverage.
- lever + -age 1715–25
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'leverage' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
breast drill
- gearing
- percussion instrument
- pinch
- prize
- pry
- purchase
- row
- tackle
- woomera