fulcrum
noun /ˈfʊlkrəm/, /ˈfʌlkrəm/
/ˈfʊlkrəm/, /ˈfʌlkrəm/
(plural fulcrums, fulcra
/ˈfʊlkrə/, /ˈfʌlkrə/
/ˈfʊlkrə/, /ˈfʌlkrə/
)- (physics) the point on which a lever turns or is supported
- [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.
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’.