lever

lev·er

Use lever in a sentence

A crowbar used as a lever.

A crowbar is an example of a lever.

noun

The definition of a lever is a bar used to control a machine.
Classes of Levers
- Class 1 levers have force applied on the opposite side of the fulcrum, or pivot point. On a see-saw, the farther away from the fulcrum you sit, the bigger the force you can produce. This is why it is easier to use a tool with a long handle. Scissors and pliers are examples of class 1 levers.
- Class 2 levers have the fulcrum at one end, like wheelbarrows, nail clippers, and nutcrackers.
- Class 3 levers also have the fulcrum at the end, but you exert force in the center and the higher force is produced at the tips, as in tweezers and tongs.
1. An example of a lever is a stick shift in a car with a manual transmission.
2. Examples of lever are pliers, scissors, see-saws, wheelbarrows, and tongs.
Lever is defined as a means to get something.
An example of a lever is a family connection which might be used to get admitted to a school.
Lever means a tool, usually a bar, used to lift or pry open something.
An example of a lever is a crowbar.

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"lever." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/lever>.

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lever. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/lever

lever

a bar used as a pry
a means to an end
Mech. a device consisting of a bar turning about a fixed point, the fulcrum, using power or force applied at a second point to lift or sustain a weight at a third point; hence, any handle or the like used to operate something

Origin of lever

Old French leveour from lever, to raise from Classical Latin levare from levis, light: see light

to move, lift, etc. with or as with a lever
to use as a lever

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"lever." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/lever>.

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lever. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/lever

lever

noun

A simple machine consisting of a rigid bar pivoted on a fixed point and used to transmit force, as in raising or moving a weight at one end by pushing down on the other.
A projecting handle used to adjust or operate a mechanism.
A means of accomplishing; a tool: used friendship as a lever to obtain advancement.

transitive verb

lev·ered, lev·er·ing, lev·ers

To move or lift with a lever: levered up the manhole cover.
To move (oneself, for example) in a manner resembling the use of a lever: “[He] levered himself out the window all the way to his waist” ( Stephen King )
To fund at least in part with borrowed money; leverage.

Origin of lever

Middle English from Old French levier from lever to raise from Latin levāre from levis light ; see leg^wh- in Indo-European roots.

lever

diagram of the three types of levers, showing fulcrum, direction of effort, and direction of force of the load (or resistance)

top: a crowbar

center: a wheelbarrow

bottom: a shovel

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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"lever." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/lever>.

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lever. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/lever

A simple machine consisting of a bar that pivots on a fixed support, or fulcrum, and is used to transmit torque. A force applied by pushing down on one end of the lever results in a force pushing up at the other end. If the fulcrum is not positioned in the middle of the lever, then the force applied to one end will not yield the same force on the other, since the torque must be the same on either side of the fulcrum. Levers, like gears, can thus be used to increase the force available from a mechanical power source.

See more at fulcrum See also mechanical advantage

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"lever." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/lever>.

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lever. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/lever

Noun

(plural levers)

(mechanics) A rigid piece which is capable of turning about one point, or axis (the fulcrum), and in which are two or more other points where forces are applied; "” used for transmitting and modifying force and motion.
1. Specifically, a bar of metal, wood or other rigid substance, used to exert a pressure, or sustain a weight, at one point of its length, by receiving a force or power at a second, and turning at a third on a fixed point called a fulcrum. It is usually named as the first of the six mechanical powers, and is of three kinds, according as either the fulcrum F, the weight W, or the power P, respectively, is situated between the other two, as in the figures.
A small such piece to trigger or control a mechanical device (like a button).
(mechanics) A bar, as a capstan bar, applied to a rotatory piece to turn it.
(mechanics) An arm on a rock shaft, to give motion to the shaft or to obtain motion from it.

Verb

(third-person singular simple present levers, present participle levering, simple past and past participle levered)

To move with a lever.
With great effort and a big crowbar I managed to lever the beam off the floor.
(figuratively) To use, operate like a lever.
(chiefly UK, finance) To increase the share of debt in the capitalization of a business.

Origin

From Old French leveor, leveur (“a lifter, lever (also Old French and French levier)"), from Latin levator (“a lifter"), from levare, past part. levatus (“to raise"); see levant. Compare alleviate, elevate, leaven.

Adverb

(not comparable)

1537, William Tyndale et al, "Jonah", in The Byble
Now therefore take my life from me, for I had lever die then live.
1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faery Queene
For lever had I die than see his deadly face.

Origin

From Middle English comparative of leve (“dear") of Germanic origin (compare German lieb) or lief.

Noun

(plural levers)

(rare) A levee.

Anagrams

Origin

From French lever.

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

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MLA Style

"lever." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/lever>.

APA Style

lever. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/lever

lever

Classes of Levers

lever

lever

Sentence Examples

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lever

Classes of Levers

lever

lever

Sentence Examples

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