Meaning & use
lever
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Meanings
nouncountablephysics
A stiff bar that turns on a fixed point, used to lift or shift a heavy object with less force.
Grammar: Often described with a fulcrum or pivot: push down on the lever.
Patterns
- pull a lever
- a lever for something
He used a long iron bar as a lever to move the boulder.
A seesaw is a lever with the pivot in the middle.
The mechanic pressed the lever and the car rose.
nouncountable
A handle you push, pull, or flip to operate a machine or device.
Grammar: A control: the gear lever, a light lever.
Patterns
- pull the lever
- the lever on something
She pulled the lever and the gate swung open.
The lever on the old coffee machine sticks.
Move the gear lever into neutral.
nouncountablefigurative
A way of putting pressure on someone, or gaining an advantage in a situation.
Grammar: Figurative: a lever for change.
Patterns
- a lever for something
- a lever against someone
The unions used the strike as a lever to win better pay.
Tax breaks became a lever for encouraging investment.
Her knowledge of the secret was a lever she never used.
verbtransitive
To lift or force something into a new position using a bar or similar tool.
Grammar: Takes an object plus direction words: lever the lid off.
Patterns
- lever something up
- lever something open
He levered the lid off the paint can with a screwdriver.
They levered the log out of the mud.
She levered herself out of the low chair.
Word forms
| plural | levers |
|---|---|
| third person singular | levers |
| past tense | levered |
| past participle | levered |
| -ing form | levering |
Common combinations
- pull a lever
- He pulled a lever and the machine started.
- lever of power
- The president holds many levers of power.
- gear lever
- Change gears with the gear lever.
- lever open
- The thief levered open the window.
- policy lever
- Interest rates are a powerful policy lever.
Synonyms and how they differ
- crowbar
- A crowbar is a specific metal tool used as a lever, while lever is the general principle or part.
- handle
- Handle is the part you grip and need not pivot, whereas a lever moves around a fixed point.
- leverage
- Leverage is the advantage or power that a lever gives, an abstract noun, not the object.
- pry
- Pry, as a verb, stresses forcing something open, while lever is broader and also lifts.
Word family
Commonly confused: lever or level?
lever vs level
Level means flat or a height, while lever is a bar or handle. They are easy to mix up in spelling.
Practice
She used a spoon to ___ the lid off the tin.
Choose one answer.
Lever as a verb means to force something using a bar-like tool. Level is a tempting spelling slip but means to make flat.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lever”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.