Adjacent Words

Pivot definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PIV'OT, n. A pin on which any thing turns.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the person in a rank around whom the others wheel and maneuver [syn: pivot, pivot man]
2: axis consisting of a short shaft that supports something that turns [syn: pivot, pin]
3: the act of turning on (or as if on) a pivot; "the golfer went to the driving range to practice his pivot" v
1: turn on a pivot [syn: pivot, swivel]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: French Date: 1611 1. a shaft or pin on which something turns 2. a. a person, thing, or factor having a major or central role, function, or effect b. a key player or position; specifically an offensive position of a basketball player standing usually with back to the basket to relay passes, shoot, or provide a screen for teammates 3. the action of pivoting; especially the action in basketball of stepping with one foot while keeping the other foot at its point of contact with the floor II. adjective Date: 1796 1. turning on or as if on a pivot 2. pivotal III. verb Date: 1841 intransitive verb to turn on or as if on a pivot transitive verb 1. to provide with, mount on, or attach by a pivot 2. to cause to pivot • pivotable adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a short shaft or pin on which something turns or oscillates. 2 a crucial or essential person, point, etc., in a scheme or enterprise. 3 Mil. the man or men about whom a body of troops wheels. --v. (pivoted, pivoting) 1 intr. turn on or as if on a pivot. 2 intr. (foll. by on, upon) hinge on; depend on. 3 tr. provide with or attach by a pivot. Derivatives: pivotable adj. pivotability n. pivotal adj. Etymology: F, of uncert. orig.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pivot Piv"ot, n. [F.; prob. akin to It. piva pipe, F. pipe. See Pipe.] 1. A fixed pin or short axis, on the end of which a wheel or other body turns. 2. The end of a shaft or arbor which rests and turns in a support; as, the pivot of an arbor in a watch. 3. Hence, figuratively: A turning point or condition; that on which important results depend; as, the pivot of an enterprise. 4. (Mil.) The officer or soldier who simply turns in his place whike the company or line moves around him in wheeling; -- called also pivot man. Pivot bridge, a form of drawbridge in which one span, called the pivot span, turns about a central vertical axis. Pivot gun, a gun mounted on a pivot or revolving carriage, so as to turn in any direction. Pivot tooth (Dentistry), an artificial crown attached to the root of a natural tooth by a pin or peg.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pivot Piv"ot, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pivoted; p. pr. & vb. n. Pivoting.] To place on a pivot. --Clarke.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(pivots, pivoting, pivoted) 1. The pivot in a situation is the most important thing which everything else is based on or arranged around. Forming the pivot of the exhibition is a large group of watercolours. N-COUNT: usu the N in sing, oft the N of n 2. If something pivots, it balances or turns on a central point. The boat pivoted on its central axis and pointed straight at the harbour entrance... She pivots gracefully on the stage... He pivoted his whole body through ninety degrees. VERB: V prep/adv, V prep/adv, V n prep 3. A pivot is the pin or the central point on which something balances or turns. The pedal had sheared off at the pivot. N-COUNT: usu sing

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n. Turn, hinge, depend. II. n. Turning-point.

Moby Thesaurus

ankle, arbor, articulation, avert, axis, axle, axle bar, axle shaft, axle spindle, axle-tree, bearing, bench mark, boundary, butt, cardinal point, center, center of action, center of gravity, centroid, centrum, cervix, chief thing, circle, circulate, circumrotate, circumvolute, climax, clinch, closure, come about, connecting link, connecting rod, connection, core, cornerstone, coupling, crank, crisis, critical point, crux, dead center, deflect, depend, distaff, divert, dovetail, elbow, embrace, epicenter, essence, essential, essential matter, fetch about, focal point, fulcrum, fundamental, gimbal, gist, gliding joint, go about, go around, go round, gravamen, great point, gudgeon, gyrate, gyre, hang, heart, heel, high point, hinge, hinged joint, hingle, hip, hub, important thing, interface, issue, join, joining, joint, juncture, kernel, keystone, kingpin, knee, knuckle, landmark, link, main point, main thing, mandrel, marrow, material point, meat, medulla, metacenter, middle, milestone, miter, mortise, nave, navel, neck, nub, nucleus, oarlock, omphalos, pin, pintle, pirouette, pith, pivot about, pivot joint, pole, put about, rabbet, radiant, real issue, rely, rest, resting point, revolve, rotate, round, rowlock, salient point, scarf, screw, seam, sheer, shoulder, sine qua non, spin, spindle, stitch, storm center, substance, substantive point, suture, swing, swing round, swivel, symphysis, the bottom line, the point, thole, tholepin, tie rod, toggle, toggle joint, trunnion, turn, turn a pirouette, turn about, turn around, turn round, turn tail, turning point, twirl, twist, umbilicus, union, veer, veer around, volte-face, wamble, weld, wheel, wheel about, whip, whirl, wind, wrist