leverage :

The use of debt financing, or property of rising or falling at a proportionally greater amount than comparable investments. For example, an option is said to have high leverage compared to the underlying stockbecause a given price change in the stock may result in a greater increaseor decrease in the value of the option. Also, commonly known as Gearing in Europe.

Leverage :

Using leverage in the context of the forex market means trading on a margin. It is when traders only put up a percentage of the full amount to start a transaction, allowing them to trade with larger sums of money. A broker quotes a ratio which represents the amount they are prepared to lend a trader, for example; 100:1 is a 1% margin requirement so for every £1 the trader puts up, the broker will lend him £100. See Margin.