Meaning

(mechanics) 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..

Definitions by Sense

1. (mechanics) 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.
2. A small such piece to trigger or control a mechanical device (like a switch or a button).
3. (mechanics) A bar, as a capstan bar, applied to a rotatory piece to turn it.
4. (mechanics) An arm on a rock shaft, to give motion to the shaft or to obtain motion from it.
5. (obsolete, except in generalized senses below) A crowbar.
6. (transitive) To move with a lever.
7. (figuratively, transitive) To use, operate or move (something) like a lever (physically).
8. (figuratively, transitive) To use (something) like a lever (in an abstract sense).

Example Sentences

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.

My lord, I brained him with a lever my neighbour lent me, and he stood by and cried, ‘Strike home, old boy!’

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.

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.

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.

Word Forms

• levers
• levering
• levered
• liever

Synonyms for lever

Related Words

When Should You Use Lever?

Use lever when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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