lever
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: simple
Topics: business
engineering
finance
mechanical-engineering
mechanics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
Etymology: From Middle English lever, levore, levour, from Old French leveor, leveur (“a lifter, lever (also Old French and French levier)”), from Latin levātor (“a lifter”), from levō (“to raise”). Doublet of levator.
Inflected forms:
form: levers
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: levers
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: levering
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: levered
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: levered
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: A rigid piece which is capable of turning about one point, or axis (fulcrum), and in which are two or more other points where forces are applied; — used for transmitting and modifying force and motion.
pos: noun
gloss: A rigid piece which is capable of turning about one point, or axis (fulcrum), and in which are two or more other points where forces are applied; — used for transmitting and modifying force and motion.
pos: noun
examples: Retractable steps and handrails are provided on each side of the cars. The steps, which are under the control of the guard, are operated by hand levers in the entrance vestibule.
gloss: A small such piece to trigger or control a mechanical device (like a switch or a button).
pos: noun
gloss: A bar, as a capstan bar, applied to a rotatory piece to turn it.
pos: noun
examples: A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place.
gloss: An arm on a rock shaft, to give motion to the shaft or to obtain motion from it.
pos: noun
gloss: A crowbar.
pos: noun
tags: obsolete
examples: My lord, I brained him with a lever my neighbour lent me, and he stood by and cried, ‘Strike home, old boy!’
gloss: To move with a lever.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: With great effort and a big crowbar I managed to lever the beam off the floor.
Someone found a pick and levered a burst plank out of the floor, and in a few minutes we had got a fire alight and our drenched clothes were steaming.
gloss: To use, operate or move (something) like a lever (physically).
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
transitive
examples: Sullen now, with stultified spleen, Mrs Dibble grappled her crutches and levered herself upright after an ungainly struggle.
Suddenly he had levered himself up from the sofa, rocking the lame man violently, and was walking towards the receptionist.
The guard at the door coughed up blood, and died instantly. Fina was carrying an empty rifle with a sharpened bayonet, and she'd thrust it straight up through his neck, severing the spinal cord. She levered him off the front stoop and into the bushes, then stood up on the tips of her toes to peer through the window in the door.
gloss: To use (something) like a lever (in an abstract sense).
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
transitive
examples: He was a man who levered his way from small-time communist hack to political power by tapping into the most potent vein of historical juice in the Balkans: nationalism.
Credited with pioneering the detective novel, Collins has attracted many biographers over the years, drawn to his extraordinary life and work in the hope of levering open a new understanding of the Victorian psyche.
gloss: To increase the share of debt in the capitalization of a business.
pos: verb
tags: UK
examples: "The equity holders want you to 'lever up,' use as much debt as you can," said David Stanley, chairman of Kansas City-based Payless Cashways,
Synonyms: jimmy
Related words: alleviate
elevator
elevate
leaven
levant
Levant
levator
levitator
levitate
Derived words: back lever
beer lever
delever
exolever
front lever
lever action
lever arm
leverless
leverman
lever shears
microlever
multilever
pull a lever
ratchet lever
reversing lever
shift lever
side-lever
tuning lever
underlever
compound lever
gear lever
leverage
lever escapement
lever frame
lever jack
lever watch
thrust lever
tire lever
tyre lever
universal lever
Translations:
lang: Afrikaans
word: hefboom
lang: Albanian
word: lloz
lang: Albanian
word: levë
lang: Arabic
word: مُخْل
roman: muḵl
lang: Arabic
word: مُحْل
roman: muḥl
lang: Arabic
word: عَتَلَة
roman: ʕatala
lang: Arabic
word: رَافِعَة
roman: rāfiʕa
lang: Armenian
word: լծակ
roman: lcak
lang: Azerbaijani
word: ling
lang: Bashkir
word: һалмауыр
roman: halmawır
lang: Basque
word: palanka
lang: Basque
word: altxaprima
lang: Belarusian
word: падва́жнік
roman: padvážnik
lang: Belarusian
word: вага́р
roman: vahár
lang: Belarusian
word: рыча́г
roman: ryčáh
lang: Bengali
word: লিভার
roman: libhar
lang: Bulgarian
word: лост
roman: lost
lang: Burmese
word: ကုတ်
roman: kut
lang: Catalan
word: alçaprem
lang: Catalan
word: palanca
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 槓桿 /杠杆
roman: gànggǎn
lang: Czech
word: páka
lang: Danish
word: vægtstang
lang: Dutch
word: hefboom
lang: Esperanto
word: baskulo
lang: Esperanto
word: levstango
lang: Esperanto
word: levilo
lang: Estonian
word: kang
lang: Finnish
word: vipu
lang: French
word: levier
lang: West-Frisian
word: hefbeam
lang: West-Frisian
word: hefaerm
lang: Galician
word: cambón
lang: Galician
word: panca
lang: Galician
word: perpau
lang: Galician
word: palferro
lang: Galician
word: alzaprema
lang: Galician
word: palastra
lang: Galician
word: mourón
lang: Galician
word: gurra
lang: Galician
word: bimbarra
lang: Georgian
word: ბერკეტი
roman: berḳeṭi
lang: German
word: Hebel
lang: Greek
word: μοχλός
roman: mochlós
lang: Ancient Greek
word: μοχλός
roman: mokhlós
lang: Gujarati
word: ઉચ્ચાલક
roman: uccālak
lang: Hebrew
word: מָנוֹף
roman: manóf
lang: Hindi
word: उत्तोलक
roman: uttolak
lang: Hindi
word: लीवर
roman: līvar
lang: Hungarian
word: emelő
lang: Hungarian
word: emelőrúd
lang: Icelandic
word: vogarstöng
lang: Icelandic
word: lyftistöng
lang: Indonesian
word: tuas
lang: Indonesian
word: pengungkit
lang: Irish
word: luamhán
lang: Italian
word: leva
lang: Japanese
word: 梃子
roman: teko
lang: Kazakh
word: иінтірек
roman: iıntırek
lang: Khmer
word: គម្នាស់
roman: kɔɔkumnŏəh
lang: Khmer
word: ដងថ្លឹង
roman: dɑɑngthləng
lang: Korean
word: 지레
roman: jire
lang: Kyrgyz
word: рычаг
roman: rıcag
lang: Lao
word: ລີ້ນ
roman: līn
lang: Lao
word: ຊະແລງ
roman: sa lǣng
lang: Lao
word: ໄມ້ງັດ
roman: mai ngat
lang: Latin
word: vectis
lang: Latvian
word: svira
lang: Lithuanian
word: svirtis
lang: Lithuanian
word: svertas
lang: Macedonian
word: лост
roman: lost
lang: Malay
word: tuil
lang: Malay
word: tuas
lang: Malay
word: pengumpil
lang: Malay
word: pengungkil
lang: Malay
word: pengungkit
lang: Malayalam
word: ഉത്തോലകം
roman: uttōlakaṁ
lang: Māori
word: hua
lang: Māori
word: tūwhiti
lang: Māori
word: kauwhiti
lang: Central Melanau
word: tuwaih
lang: Central Melanau
word: suwil
lang: Mongolian
word: хөшүүрэг
roman: xöšüüreg
lang: Classical Nahuatl
word: cuammītl
lang: Newar
word: थिँभः
roman: thĩbha:
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: vektstang
lang: Norwegian Nynorsk
word: vektstong
lang: Pashto
word: رافعه
roman: rāfe'á
lang: Pashto
word: اړم
roman: aṛám
lang: Pashto
word: اړمی
roman: aramáy
lang: Pashto
word: خريز
roman: xriz
lang: Pashto
word: دغری
roman: daǧǝ́ray
lang: Pashto
word: دورسي
roman: duresí
lang: Persian
word: اهرم
roman: ahrom
lang: Polish
word: dźwignia
lang: Polish
word: drążek
lang: Polish
word: lewar
lang: Polish
word: wajcha
lang: Portuguese
word: alavanca
lang: Romanian
word: pârghie
lang: Russian
word: рыча́г
roman: ryčág
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: по̀луга
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: pòluga
lang: Slovak
word: páka
lang: Slovene
word: vzvod
lang: Spanish
word: palanca
lang: Swedish
word: hävstång
lang: Tagalog
word: dalawit
lang: Tajik
word: фашанг
roman: fašang
lang: Tajik
word: фишанг
roman: fišang
lang: Tajik
word: дастак
roman: dastak
lang: Tamil
word: நெம்புகோல்
roman: nempukōl
lang: Telugu
word: తులాదండము
roman: tulādaṇḍamu
lang: Thai
word: คาน
roman: kaan
lang: Turkish
word: kaldıraç
lang: Turkmen
word: leňňer
lang: Ukrainian
word: ва́жіль
roman: vážilʹ
lang: Ukrainian
word: підо́йма
roman: pidójma
lang: Ukrainian
word: підва́га
roman: pidváha
lang: Urdu
word: لیور
roman: līvar
lang: Uzbek
word: pishang
lang: Uzbek
word: dastak
lang: Uzbek
word: richag
lang: Vietnamese
word: đòn bẩy
lang: Walloon
word: djîsse
lang: Walloon
word: levî
lang: Finnish
word: vivuttaa
lang: Spanish
word: centrarse en