lever

\lə.ve\

/\lə.ve\/ verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“lever” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #2,370 in French word frequency and used as a verb.

#2,370
frequency rank, French
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Faire qu’une chose soit plus haut qu’elle n’était.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

lever vs live
60% similar
lever vs love
60% similar
lever vs lier
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for lever
PropertyValue
Headwordlever
LanguageFrench
Part of speechVerb
IPA\lə.ve\
Letters5
Frequency rank#2,370
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “lever” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). lever lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for lever is 5 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \lə.ve\. Corpus data places it at rank #2,370 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 31 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for lever, with forms such as "elver", "leevr", and "leverr". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "live", "love", "lier", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is lever, spelled L-E-V-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Faire qu’une chose soit plus haut qu’elle n’était.
  2. 2
    Redresser une personne ou une chose qui était dans une position horizontale.
  3. 3
    Porter.
  4. 4
    Aider quelqu’un à sortir du lit et à s’habiller.
  5. 5
    Faire partir un gibier de son gîte, de sa cachette.
  6. 6
    Réussir à séduire quelqu’un.
  7. 7
    Pour un ou une prostitué(e), réussir à convaincre un client.
  8. 8
    Être le premier à soulever une question embarrassante ou un fait dissimulé.
  9. 9
    Ramasser au hasard.
  10. 10
    Ôter, enlever, retirer, écarter.
  11. 11
    Retirer de l’eau
  12. 12
    Arracher, avec la portion de terre qui tient à leurs racines, afin de les transplanter, en parlant d’un arbre, d’une plante.
  13. 13
    Faire cesser, écarter, dissiper.
  14. 14
    Révoquer.
  15. 15
    Couper une partie sur un tout, surtout en parlant des étoffes.
  16. 16
    Couper un membre ou quelque partie d’un animal qui sert à la nourriture.
  17. 17
    Percevoir, recueillir, rassembler, ramasser, emporter.
  18. 18
    Emprunter des fonds.
  19. 19
    Enrôler et armer.
  20. 20
    Se faire délivrer l’expédition d’un arrêt, d’une sentence, d’un acte.
  21. 21
    Mesurer pour tracer un plan.
  22. 22
    Commencer à pousser et à sortir de terre, en parlant des plantes, des graines.
  23. 23
    Fermenter en parlant de la pâte.
  24. 24
    Se dresser, se mettre debout sur ses pieds.
  25. 25
    Quitter une position assise pour partir, à table, au bureau, dans une assemblée.
  26. 26
    se soulever, s’insurger.
  27. 27
    Sortir du lit.
  28. 28
    Commencer à paraître sur l’horizon, en parlant du soleil et des astres.
  29. 29
    Commencer à poindre, en parlant du jour.
  30. 30
    Commencer à souffler, en parlant du vent.
  31. 31
    Devenir moins maussade, en parlant du temps.

Synonyms

éleverhausserremonter

This word in other languages

raise(English)alzar(Español)erheben(Deutsch)elevar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: elver,leevr,leverr,levre,levver,llever,lveer

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of lever - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

elver2leevr2leverr1levre2levver1llever1lveer2
Edit distance from "lever"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "lever"?
"lever" is spelled L-E-V-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is \lə.ve\.
What does "lever" mean?
As a verb, "lever" means: Faire qu’une chose soit plus haut qu’elle n’était.
What words are commonly confused with "lever"?
"lever" is commonly confused with "live", "love", "lier". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "lever"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lever" is \lə.ve\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "lever" come from?
"lever" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “lever”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is L-E-V-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \lə.ve\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “live” - see the side-by-side comparison. lever vs live
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list