pivot
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pivot
- /ˈpɪv.ɪt/ UK
- /ˈpɪv.ɪt/ Australia, Canada, US
- /ˈpɪv.ət/ Australia, Canada, US
Rhymes with -ɪvɪt, -ɪvət
Where it comes from
From Middle English pevet, *pivot, from Old French pivot (“hinge pin, pivot”) (12th c.), possibly from Latin pūgiō.
noun pivots
- A thing on which something turns; specifically a metal pointed pin or short shaft in machinery, such as the end of an axle or spindle. The weight of the body and the traction and braking forces are taken by the conventional dished bogie centre pivot with phosphor-bronze liner; this type of centre pivot facilitates passage over marshalling yard humps.
- Something or someone having a paramount significance in a certain situation. “The story of this adoption is, of course, the pivot round which all the circumstances of the mysterious tragedy revolved. Mrs. Yule had an only son, namely, William, to whom she was passionately attached ; but, like many a fond mother, she had the desire of mapping out that son's future entirely ac
- Act of turning on one foot.
- The officer or soldier who simply turns in his place while the company or line moves around him in wheeling.
- A player with responsibility for co-ordinating their team in a particular jam.
- An element of a set to be sorted that is chosen as a midpoint, so as to divide the other elements into two groups to be dealt with recursively.
- A pivot table.
- Any of a row of captioned elements used to navigate to subpages, rather like tabs.
- An element of a matrix that is used as a focus for row operations, such as dividing the row by the pivot, or adding multiples of the row to other rows making all other values in the pivot column 0.
- A pivotal quantity.
- A quarterback.
- A circle runner.
- A shift during a general election in a political candidate's messaging to reflect plans and values more moderate than those advocated during the primary.
verb pivots · pivoting · pivoted
- To turn on an exact spot.
- To change the direction of a business, usually in response to changes in the market. Mr. Shah’s new business has signed up 25 New York City hotels and raised $1.5 million from angel investors and $3 million from a seed round. Yet three months into his new project, he has had to pivot again, realizing that his best customers are large businesses, not individuals.
- To shift a political candidate's messaging during a general election to reflect plans and values more moderate than those advocated during the primary.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: swivel, pin, pivot man, linchpin, hub, fulcrum, pole, bolt, hinge, wire, shaft, underpinning, steering, keystone, lynchpin, anchor
Translations
Every language
noun that on which something turns
| Español | perno, pivote |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 피벗 pibeot |
| 日本語 | ピボット pibotto, 枢 |
| 中文 | 樞 /枢 shū, 樞紐 /枢纽 shūniǔ, 樞軸 /枢轴 shūzhóu |
| Português | pivô |
| Français | pivot |
| Deutsch | Drehpunkt, Angelpunkt, Zapfen, Angelzapfen |
| Italiano | perno, fulcro |
| Română | pivot |
| Русский | сте́ржень stérženʹ, штырь štyrʹ, центр враще́ния centr vraščénija, ось osʹ, шпень špenʹ, шпинь špinʹ |
| עברית | צִיר tsir |
noun something having a paramount significance
| Español | pívot |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 樞紐 /枢纽 shūniǔ |
| Português | pivô |
| Deutsch | Angelpunkt |
| Italiano | fulcro |
| Русский | гла́вный пункт glávnyj punkt, ключево́й моме́нт ključevój momént |
noun act of turning on one foot
| Français | pivotement |
|---|---|
| Română | pivotare, pivotări |
verb to turn on an exact spot
| Español | pivotar |
|---|---|
| Português | girar |
| Français | pivoter |
| Deutsch | sich drehen |
| Italiano | imperniare |
| Русский | верте́ться vertétʹsja, враща́ться vraščátʹsja |
Talk about this word "pivot." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/pivot. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. pivot. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/pivot "pivot." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/pivot.Cite this
@misc{pivot_2026,
title = {pivot},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/pivot},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
