fulcrum
noun
ˈfəl-
Gerald Mast Bernard De Voto
Did you know?
Fulcrum, which means "bedpost" in Latin, comes from the verb fulcire, which means "to prop." When the word fulcrum was first used in the 17th century, it referred to the point on which a lever or similar device (such as the oar of a boat) is supported. The literal use easily supported figurative use, and it didn't take long for the word to develop a meaning referring to one deemed essential to the function or development of something. Despite fulcrum's multiple senses, the word's meanings have kept a steady theme. In zoology, fulcrum refers to a part of an animal that serves as a hinge or support, such as the joint supporting a bird's wing.
Examples of fulcrum in a Sentence
Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 June 2025
With this incident as a fulcrum, Schafer builds us a big, bold, brave, brilliant, beast of a novel.
—Emily Temple
may 27, Literary Hub, 27 May 2025
There’s another reason Marsh is keenly focused on Cardoso: The second-year center will operate as the fulcrum of the team’s new offense.
—Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 28 Apr. 2025
On a thematic level, though, Inherent Vice also fixates on the same cultural fulcrum point as much of Young’s mid-’70s output, taking place in the immediate wake of the Manson murders, when every hitch-hiking hippie suddenly seemed menacing to middle America.
—Chris Stanton, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fulcrum
Cite this Entry
“Fulcrum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fulcrum. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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fulcrum
noun
ˈfəl-
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