pivot

/ˈpɪvət/

/ˈpɪvət/

Other forms: pivoted; pivots; pivoting

To pivot is to turn or rotate, like a hinge. Or a basketball player pivoting back and forth on one foot to protect the ball.

When you're not talking about a type of swiveling movement, you can use pivot to mean the one central thing that something depends upon. The central pivot of your student government campaign, for example, might be longer recess time. Or your plans to go to the beach this weekend could pivot upon whether it rains, as the weather channel has predicted, or gets surprisingly sunny.

Definitions of pivot

1. noun

   axis consisting of a short shaft that supports something that turns
   synonyms: pin

   types:

   fulcrum

   the pivot about which a lever turns

   pintle

   a pin or bolt forming the pivot of a hinge

   type of:

   axis, axis of rotation

   the center around which something rotates
2. noun

   the act of turning on (or as if on) a pivot
   “the golfer went to the driving range to practice his pivot”

   type of:

   rotary motion, rotation

   the act of rotating as if on an axis
3. noun

   the person in a rank around whom the others wheel and maneuver
   synonyms: pivot man

   type of:

   marcher, parader

   walks with regular or stately step
4. verb

   turn on a pivot
   synonyms: swivel

   types:

   pirouette

   do a pirouette, usually as part of a dance

   type of:

   turn

   change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense
5. verb

   make a significant change in position, strategy, or process
   type of:

   change

   undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature
6. verb

   be contingent or centered on
   synonyms: depend on, depend upon, devolve on, hinge on, hinge upon, ride, turn on

   types:

   build on, build upon, repose on, rest on

   be based on; of theories and claims, for example

   owe

   be indebted to, in an abstract or intellectual sense