Fulcrum

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈfÊŒlk.rÉ™m/

Origin

From Latin fulcrum ("bedpost, foot of a couch"), from fulciō ("prop up, support").

Full definition of fulcrum

Noun

1. (mechanics) The support about which a lever pivots.
• It is possible to flick food across the table using your fork as a lever and your finger as a fulcrum.
• 2010, John Allison (artist), ''Bad MachineryMILDRED: Archimedes said give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it and I will move the world.CHARLOTTE: Yeah she said that twaddle eight or nine times.
• 2012-03, Henry Petroski, Opening Doors, A doorknob of whatever roundish shape is effectively a continuum of levers, with the axis of the latching mechanism—known as the spindle—being the fulcrum about which the turning takes place.