Home / Words / leverageNo. 0215

leverage

/ˈlevərɪdʒ/·noun, verb

advantage gained by applying force, or influence, at the right point — or to use something that way
Fig. 1 — The boulder ignores the whole of him — shoulder, boots, back, everything he has, and it rocks maybe a finger's width before settling back into its bed.
01Definition

Leverage begins at the fulcrum: a lever lets a modest push amplify itself into a force that moves what muscle alone cannot. From that physics the word spread to every arena where position multiplies power. A negotiator's leverage is whatever makes the other side need the deal more; financial leverage is borrowed money that swells both gains and losses. As a verb it means to put an asset to work beyond its face value — to leverage a skill, a brand, a connection.

02In use
  • iThe union used the strike deadline as leverage in the pay talks.
  • iiSmall firms leverage cloud computing to look and act far bigger than they are.
  • iiiBuying with borrowed money gives investors leverage — and magnifies every mistake.
03Collocations
  • gain leverage over
  • use something as leverage
  • financial leverage
  • highly leveraged
  • leverage a strength

Family lever (noun) · leveraged (adjective)

04Relations

=advantage, influence, clout, exploit, utilize

≠weakness, disadvantage

06TOEFL & IELTS

The first vowel splits the Atlantic: American LEV-erage /ˈlevərɪdʒ/, British LEE-verage /ˈliːvərɪdʒ/ — a rare true US/UK vowel change worth hearing in both accents. In business English the verb is everywhere (leverage our expertise), but it reads as corporate jargon in academic prose; for TOEFL/IELTS essays prefer use, draw on, or exploit unless you mean the finance sense, where leverage is the precise term for operating on borrowed capital (British bankers also say gearing).

07Asked
Is leverage a verb, or only a noun?
Both are standard now. The noun is centuries old; the verb — to leverage a skill, to leverage funding — grew out of American finance in the twentieth century and is recorded in every major dictionary. Some readers still hear the verb as business-speak, which is a register judgment rather than a grammar one: it is correct English that certain audiences dislike.
How do you pronounce leverage — LEV or LEE?
Both, depending on the side of the Atlantic: LEV in American English, LEE in British. The parent word lever splits exactly the same way — US LEV-er, UK LEE-ver — which is the easiest way to keep the pair straight. Neither is wrong; pick the accent you use elsewhere and stay consistent, especially in a speaking test.
What does leverage mean in finance?
Operating with borrowed money so that a small amount of your own capital controls a much larger position — British bankers call the same idea gearing. It cuts both ways: profits are multiplied, and so are losses, which is why 'highly leveraged' firms are the first casualties of a downturn and why leveraged buyouts (takeovers financed mostly by debt) are famously risky.
What does it mean to have leverage over someone?
To hold something they need or fear — information, money, an alternative offer — that lets you steer their choices. It is the negotiation sense of the word: the landlord with three other bidders has leverage over the tenant; the employee with a rival job offer has leverage over the boss. The physics image underneath is exact — a small, well-placed pressure moving a heavy decision.
What does 'leverage your strengths' mean in business English?
To put an existing asset to fuller use — make a strength do extra work beyond its obvious job, the way the scene's beam makes one arm do the work of ten. A company leverages its brand when the name sells new products by itself. The phrase is useful in interviews and CVs, but in essays it is safer to write use or build on, since leverage-as-verb can sound like jargon.
Is leverage too much like corporate jargon for an essay?
The verb often is; the noun rarely is. Writing 'we must leverage synergies' costs you credibility with many markers, but 'debt gives firms leverage' or 'the union's main leverage was timing' is precise, formal English. A practical rule: keep leverage where the multiplying-force image genuinely fits, and reach for use or exploit when you only mean 'make use of'.