leverage🔊

A force compounded by means of a lever rotating around a pivot; see torque. +

(by extension) Any influence which is compounded or used to gain an advantage.

(finance) The use of borrowed funds with a contractually determined return to increase the ability to invest and earn an expected higher return, but usually at high risk.

(finance) The {{w|debt-to-equity ratio}}. +

(business) The ability to earn very high returns when operating at high-capacity utilization of a facility. +

(business) To use; to exploit; to manipulate in order to take full advantage (of something).