leverage

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Related to leverage: Leverage ratio, Financial leverage

lev·er·age

(lĕv′ər-ĭj, lĕv′rĭj)

a. The action of a lever.

b. The mechanical advantage of a lever.

2. Positional advantage; power to act effectively: "started his ... career with far more social leverage than his father had enjoyed" (Doris Kearns Goodwin).

3. The use of credit or borrowed funds, often for a speculative investment, as in buying securities on margin.

tr.v. lev·er·aged, lev·er·ag·ing, lev·er·ag·es

a. To provide (a company) with leverage.

b. To supplement (money, for example) with leverage.

2. To improve or enhance: "It makes more sense to be able to leverage what we [public radio stations] do in a more effective way to our listeners" (Delano Lewis).

3. To use so as to obtain an advantage or profit: leveraged their personal contacts to find new investors.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

leverage

(ˈliːvərɪdʒ; -vrɪdʒ; ˈlɛv-)

1. (Mechanical Engineering) the action of a lever

2. (Mechanical Engineering) the mechanical advantage gained by employing a lever

3. power to accomplish something; strategic advantage

4. (Commerce) the enhanced power available to a large company: the supermarket chains have greater leverage than single-outlet enterprises.

5. (Banking & Finance) US word for gearing³

6. (Commerce) the use made by a company of its limited assets to guarantee the substantial loans required to finance its business

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

lev•er•age

(ˈlɛv ər ɪdʒ, ˈlɛv rɪdʒ; ˈli vər ɪdʒ, -vrɪdʒ)

n., v. -aged, -ag•ing. n.

1. the action of a lever.

2. the mechanical advantage or power gained by using a lever.

3. power or ability to act effectively or to influence people.

4. the use of a small initial investment to gain a relatively high return.

v.t.

5. to exert power or influence on.

6. to provide with leverage.

7. to speculate in (invested funds) by using leverage.

[1715–25]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	leverage - the mechanical advantage gained by being in a position to use a lever purchase mechanical phenomenon - a physical phenomenon associated with the equilibrium or motion of objects
	2.	leverage - strategic advantage; power to act effectively; "relatively small groups can sometimes exert immense political leverage" advantage, vantage - the quality of having a superior or more favorable position; "the experience gave him the advantage over me" bargaining chip - leverage in the form of an inducement or a concession useful in successful negotiations
	3.	leverage - investing with borrowed money as a way to amplify potential gains (at the risk of greater losses) leveraging investing, investment - the act of investing; laying out money or capital in an enterprise with the expectation of profit
Verb	1.	leverage - supplement with leverage; "leverage the money that is already available" supplement - add as a supplement to what seems insufficient; "supplement your diet"
	2.	leverage - provide with leverage; "We need to leverage this company" furnish, provide, supply, render - give something useful or necessary to; "We provided the room with an electrical heater"

leverage

noun

1. influence, authority, pull (informal), weight, rank, clout (informal), purchasing power, ascendancy His position affords him the leverage to get things done through committees.

2. force, hold, pull, strength, grip, grasp The spade and fork have longer shafts, providing better leverage.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

leverage

noun

The power to produce an effect by indirect means:

influence, sway, weight.

Informal: clout.

Slang: pull.

Translations

قُوَّة الرافِعَهنُفوذ

síla pákyvliv

indflydelsevægtstangskraft

Einfluss Hebelkraft

μόχλευση

influencia poder acción de palanca aprovechar beneficiar

vaikutusvalta

effet de levierempire exploiter

למנף

emelõerõ

vogarafl

azione di una leva fare leva guadagnare potere influsso potenza di una leva

hefboomhefboomkrachtinvloed profiteren uitbuiten

dra fordel avprofittere utnytte vektstangkraft

sila páky

güçkaldıraç gücünüfuz

力量影响力杠杆作用

leverage

[ˈliːvərɪdʒ] N → apalancamiento m (fig) → influencia f, palanca f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

leverage

[ˈliːvərɪdʒ]

(using bar, lever) → effet m de levier

(= influence) → influence f
to have leverage with sb → avoir une influence sur qn
to have the leverage to do sth → pouvoir peser dans la balance pour faire qch
His function as a Mayor affords him the leverage to get things done → Ses fonctions de maire lui permettent de peser dans la balance lorsqu'il s'agit d'accomplir le travail.

vt [+ company, investment] → acheter avec un emprunt à effet de levier

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

leverage

[, (US)]

n → Hebelkraft f; (fig) → Einfluss m; this spanner can exert considerable leverage → dieser Schraubenschlüssel kann eine beträchtliche Hebelwirkung ausüben; to use something as leverage (fig) → etw als Druckmittel benutzen; (= to one’s own advantage) → etw zu seinem Vorteil ausnützen; this gave us a bit of leverage with the authorities → dadurch konnten wir etwas Druck auf die Behörden ausüben; his approval gives us a bit of leverage with them → seine Zustimmung verstärkt unsere Position ihnen gegenüber

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

leverage

[ˈliːv/ərɪdʒ, ɒm ˈlɛv/ərɪdʒ] n leverage (on) → forza (su) (fig) → ascendente m (su)
to exert leverage on sth/sb → far leva su qc/qn

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

lever

(ˈliːvə) , ((American) ˈlevər) noun

1. a bar of wood, metal etc used to lift heavy weights. A crowbar is a kind of lever; You must use a coin as a lever to get the lid of that tin off.

2. a bar or handle for operating a machine etc. This is the lever that switches on the power.

verb

to move with or as if with a lever. He levered the lid off with a coin.

ˈleverage (-ridʒ) noun

1. the power gained by the use of a lever.

2. power that can be used to influence someone's actions or decisions. The public has some leverage with their representatives in the Senate.

References in classic literature ?

Between the massive blocks were strips of grass the leverage of whose roots had pushed them apart.

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Thus the immense leverage of the ship's tall masts became a matter very near my own heart.

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This was an immense point gained; I foresaw that it would constitute my whole leverage in my relations with the two ladies.

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Remembrances of how she had journeyed to the little that she knew, by the enchanted roads of what she and millions of innocent creatures had hoped and imagined; of how, first coming upon Reason through the tender light of Fancy, she had seen it a beneficent god, deferring to gods as great as itself; not a grim Idol, cruel and cold, with its victims bound hand to foot, and its big dumb shape set up with a sightless stare, never to be moved by anything but so many calculated tons of leverage - what had she to do with these?

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A part of the Hole, indeed, contained so much public spirit and private virtue that not even this strong leverage could move it to good fellowship with a tainted accuser.

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A great broken bough upon the grass showed whence he had gained his leverage to tilt over our bridge.

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The weak point of these iron curtains is the leverage you can get from below.

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And while upon this matter of detail, it is remarkable that the long leverages of their machines are in most cases actuated by a sort of sham musculature of the disks in an elastic sheath; these disks become polarised and drawn closely and powerfully together when traversed by a current of electricity.

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And then, just as the contest was becoming interesting, Daylight effected one of his lightning shifts, changing all stresses and leverages and at the same time delivering one of his muscular explosions.

View in context

Data on bank assets and net worth are available since 1990, the longest sample at our disposal, the time series used to compute our other leverage indicators being only available after 1997.

Time-varying leverage and Basel III: a look at Canadian evidence

Tampa, FL, May 18, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Tampa Web design company, Leverage Digital Media recently completed the design and development of a custom WordPress CMS Web site for Burby Engineering, a structural engineering firm based in Tampa, FL.

Leverage Digital Media Launches Custom Web Site for Structural Engineering Firm, Burby Engineering

In 2009 GAO conducted a study on the role of leverage in the recent financial crisis and federal oversight of leverage, as mandated by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.

Financial Markets Regulation: Financial Crisis Highlights Need to Improve Oversight of Leverage at Financial Institutions and across System

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