What does lever mean?
A lever is a simple machine: a rigid bar that moves around a point of support, or fulcrum, allowing a person to lift or move a load with greater force than could be applied directly. Levers appear in everyday tools and mechanisms, including door handles, brake pedals, crowbars, and control arms. The word can also describe the action of using such a device, as in levering a rock aside, and figuratively, using influence or strategic maneuvering to achieve an advantage. Although the modern spelling reflects older forms related to the French word levier, the idea is ancient and familiar: placing the fulcrum in the right position makes difficult work easier. The term is especially useful when discussing mechanics, physical effort, and the relationship between force, distance, and leverage.
A rigid bar that turns around a fulcrum to lift, move, or exert force on a load; also, a handle or control used to operate a mechanism.
"The operator released the control lever when the alarm sounded."
In mechanics, the word refers to one of the classical simple machines and usually includes a bar, a fulcrum, and an applied force or load.
To move, lift, or pry something using a lever, or to achieve a result through careful maneuvering.
"They levered the beam back into place."
The figurative use, meaning to maneuver for an advantage, is more common in formal than in everyday informal speech.
The plural is formed by adding -s.
"Several levers control the machine."
One of civilization’s simplest machines, the lever turns a small effort into a large force—and a tiny pivot can change everything.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does lever come from?
The English word comes through Old French levier, from Latin levare, meaning to lift or raise. The mechanical sense developed from the use of a lever as a lifting device, while the verb originally referred to raising or moving something with such a device. The Latin root also underlies related English words such as elevate, alleviate, leaven, and levity.
Related word forms
How lever is actually used
The noun is common in technical, mechanical, and figurative contexts. The verb is formal in the sense of using a lever and often somewhat figurative when it means to maneuver for an advantage.
Easily confused with lever
A lever is a mechanical bar or the action of using one, whereas a liver is an organ that processes nutrients and produces bile.
A lever pivots around a fulcrum to exert force, while a leveler is a tool or person that makes surfaces or objects level.