Leverage is a temporary loan given to the trader by the broker, enabling the trader to open a trade of a larger size with a smaller amount of invested capital. Leverage is presented in the form of a multiplier that shows how much more than the invested amount a position is worth.
For example: If you trade with no leverage at all and invest $1,000, for every 1% move in the market, you can gain or lose $10, which equals 1% of $1,000. However, if you were to invest the same $1,000 and trade using x10 leverage, the dollar value of your position would be equal to $10,000.
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