TOP

Definition of fulcrum noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

fulcrum

noun
 
/ˈfʊlkrəm/,
 
/ˈfʌlkrəm/
 
/ˈfʊlkrəm/,
 
/ˈfʌlkrəm/
(plural fulcrums, fulcra
 
/ˈfʊlkrə/,
 
/ˈfʌlkrə/
 
/ˈfʊlkrə/,
 
/ˈfʌlkrə/
)
jump to other results
  1. (physics) the point on which a lever turns or is supported
  2. [usually singular] the most important part of an activity or a situation
    • the fulcrum of the whole debate
    • There was a fulcrum point when the arguments tipped decidedly in one direction.
    3. Word Originlate 17th cent. (originally in the general sense ‘a prop or support’): from Latin, literally ‘post of a couch’, from fulcire ‘to prop up’.
See fulcrum in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: fulcrum

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
From the Word list
Oxford 5000
B2
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day