fare leva

Italian

Etymology

Literally, “to make lever”.

Verb

fàre leva (first-person singular present fàccio leva, first-person singular past historic féci leva, past participle fàtto leva, first-person singular imperfect facévo leva, second-person singular imperative fài leva or fà' leva, auxiliary avére)

1. (intransitive) to leverage [with su]

   Synonyms: sfruttare, approfittarsi

   • 2020, Barack Obama, chapter 14, in Chicca Galli, Paolo Lucca, Giuseppe Maugeri, transl., Una terra promessa [A Promised Land], Garzanti Libri:

     Mentre Putin era rimasto in politica, scalando posizioni fino a diventare primo ministro sotto la presidenza di Boris El’cin, Medvedev aveva fatto leva sulle sue conoscenze politiche per assicurarsi un posto da dirigente...

     While Putin stayed in politics, eventually becoming prime minister under President Boris Yeltsin, Medvedev leveraged his political connections to secure an executive position...

     (literally, “While Putin remained in politics, climbing positions until he became prime minister under the presidency of Boris Yeltsin, Medvedev had leveraged his political knowledge to secure a leadership position...”)