fulcrum

[foo l-kruh m, fuhl-] /ˈfʊl krəm, ˈfʌl-/
noun, plural fulcrums, fulcra
[foo l-kruh, fuhl-] /ˈfʊl krə, ˈfʌl-/ (Show IPA)
1.
the support, or point of rest, on which a lever turns in moving a body.
2.
any prop or support.
3.
Zoology. any of various structures in an animal serving as a hinge or support.
verb (used with object)
4.
to fit with a fulcrum; put a fulcrum on.
Origin
1665-75; < Latin: back-support of a couch, apparently for fulctrum, equivalent to fulc(īre) to hold up, support + -trum noun suffix of instrument
Examples from the web for fulcrum
  • Grip the bottle's neck with your other hand to act as a fulcrum.
  • In such a world the central bank would no longer have the fulcrum it currently uses to change interest rates.
  • The individual merits the fulcrum of fantasy, only it's the branding of fantasy.
  • Rest its fulcrum on a board to protect other flagstones.
  • The clavicle acts especially as a fulcrum to enable the muscles to give lateral motion to the arm.
  • But it was a fulcrum around which the world began to turn.
  • The fulcrum, of course, is the observed arrow of time in our local universe.
  • But being a fulcrum doesn't mean that she's any way important to the characters, only to the writers.
  • They quantize nuclear dynamics by acting as fulcrum particles.
  • The bureaucrats are the fulcrum so the guys with the leverage can lift great weight without too much effort.
British Dictionary definitions for fulcrum

fulcrum

/ˈfʊlkrəm; ˈfʌl-/
noun (pl) -crums, -cra (-krə)
1.
the pivot about which a lever turns
2.
something that supports or sustains; prop
3.
a spinelike scale occurring in rows along the anterior edge of the fins in primitive bony fishes such as the sturgeon
Word Origin
C17: from Latin: foot of a couch, bedpost, from fulcire to prop up
Word Origin and History for fulcrum
n.

1670s, "a prop, a support" (on which a lever turns), from Latin fulcrum "bedpost," from fulcire "to prop up, support" (see balk).

fulcrum in Medicine

fulcrum ful·crum (ful'krəm, fŭl'-)
n. pl. ful·crums or ful·cra (-krə)

  1. The point or support on which a lever pivots.

  2. An anatomical structure that acts as a hinge or a point of support.

fulcrum in Science
fulcrum
  (fl'krəm)   

The point or support on which a lever turns. The position of the fulcrum, relative to the positions of the load and effort, determines the type of lever.
fulcrum in Culture
fulcrum [(fool-kruhm, ful-kruhm)]

The point on which a lever is balanced when a force is exerted.