levering

Verb

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

1. (transitive) To move with a lever.
   • With great effort and a big crowbar I managed to lever the beam off the floor.

   Synonyms:

   purchase

2. (figuratively, transitive) To use, operate or move (something) like a lever (physically).
   • Sullen now, with stultified spleen, Mrs Dibble grappled her crutches and levered herself upright after an ungainly struggle.1950, Norman Lindsay, Dust or Polish?, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 150
3. (figuratively, transitive) To use (something) like a lever (in an abstract sense).
   • 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.2001 April 9, Joshua Cooper Ramo, “Bagging the Butcher”, in Time
4. (UK) To increase the share of debt in the capitalization of a business.
   • "The equity holders want you to 'lever up,' use as much debt as you can," said David Stanley, chairman of Kansas City-based Payless Cashways,1989 June 26, “Corporate America wants its privacy”, in Minneapolis Star-Tribune

See all 13 meanings of lever