LEVER

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does lever mean? 

• LEVER (noun)
  The noun LEVER has 3 senses:

1. a rigid bar pivoted about a fulcrum

2. a simple machine that gives a mechanical advantage when given a fulcrum

3. a flat metal tumbler in a lever lock

  Familiarity information: LEVER used as a noun is uncommon.

• LEVER (verb)
  The verb LEVER has 1 sense:

1. to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open

  Familiarity information: LEVER used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LEVER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A rigid bar pivoted about a fulcrum

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("lever" is a kind of...):

bar (a rigid piece of metal or wood; usually used as a fastening or obstruction or weapon)

Meronyms (parts of "lever"):

fulcrum (the pivot about which a lever turns)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "lever"):

compound lever (a pair of levers hinged at the fulcrum)

crowbar; pry; pry bar; wrecking bar (a heavy iron lever with one end forged into a wedge)

gun trigger; trigger (lever that activates the firing mechanism of a gun)

hand throttle (a hand-operated lever that controls the throttle valve)

key (a lever (as in a keyboard) that actuates a mechanism when depressed)

cant dog; dog hook; peavey; peavy (a stout lever with a sharp spike; used for handling logs)

foot lever; foot pedal; pedal; treadle (a lever that is operated with the foot)

pinch bar (a lever with a pointed projection that serves as a fulcrum; used to roll heavy wheels)

ripping bar (a steel lever with one end formed into a ripping chisel and the other a gooseneck with a claw for pulling nails)

rocker arm; valve rocker (a lever pivoted at the center; used especially to push a valve down in an internal-combustion engine)

spark lever ((on early automobiles) a lever mounted on the steering column and used to adjust the timing of the ignition)

control stick; joystick; stick (a lever used by a pilot to control the ailerons and elevators of an airplane)

tappet (a lever that is moved in order to tap something else)

tiller (lever used to turn the rudder on a boat)

tire iron; tire tool (hand tool consisting of a lever that is used to force the casing of a pneumatic tire onto a steel wheel)

Derivation:

lever (to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A simple machine that gives a mechanical advantage when given a fulcrum

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("lever" is a kind of...):

machine; simple machine (a device for overcoming resistance at one point by applying force at some other point)

Derivation:

lever (to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A flat metal tumbler in a lever lock

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

lever; lever tumbler

Hypernyms ("lever" is a kind of...):

tumbler (a movable obstruction in a lock that must be adjusted to a given position (as by a key) before the bolt can be thrown)

Holonyms ("lever" is a part of...):

lever lock (a lock whose tumblers are levers that must be raised to a given position so that the bolt can move)

• LEVER (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they lever    ... he / she / it levers   
Past simple: levered   
Past participle: levered   
-ing form: levering   

Sense 1

Meaning:

To move or force, especially in an effort to get something open

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

jimmy; lever; prise; prize; pry

Context example:

Raccoons managed to pry the lid off the garbage pail

Hypernyms (to "lever" is one way to...):

open; open up (cause to open or to become open)

"Lever" entails doing...:

loose; loosen (make loose or looser)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP

Derivation:

lever (a rigid bar pivoted about a fulcrum)

lever (a simple machine that gives a mechanical advantage when given a fulcrum)

leverage (the mechanical advantage gained by being in a position to use a lever)

 Context examples 

A lever designed to be operated with the foot.

(Foot Pedal Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

He pulled a lever and made his mind revolve about him, a monstrous wheel of fortune, a merry-go-round of memory, a revolving sphere of wisdom.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

As I touched the lever my heart leaped within me.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The researchers trained two monkeys to undertake a perceptual decision task: while holding down a lever, the monkeys would respond to subtle color changes in their peripheral vision.

(Researchers discover neural code that predicts behavior, National Institutes of Health)

Neptune in hard angle to a full moon seems to act like a lever that will push the information up and out to the surface.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

"Even among ants that power-amplify their jaws, the Dracula ants are unique: Instead of using three different parts for the spring, latch and lever arm, all three are combined in the mandible."

(Dracula Ant Found to Be Fastest Creature on Earth, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

It was the clank of the levers and the swish of the leaking cylinder.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I understood the mechanics of levers; but where was I to get a fulcrum?

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

“See how they stretch out from each other! The Norman hath a mangonel or a trabuch upon the forecastle. See, they bend to the levers! They are about to loose it.”

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It might be ‘sever,’ or ‘lever,’ or ‘never.’ There can be no question that the latter as a reply to an appeal is far the most probable, and the circumstances pointed to its being a reply written by the lady.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)