pivotal
Americanadjective
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of, involving, or acting as a pivot
-
of crucial importance
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of pivotal
Explanation
High school graduation is a pivotal moment in most people's lives — an important point that signifies a shift in direction. You see the word pivot in pivotal. That is because when something is pivotal, it is central, and everything related to the topic turns or depends on it. An election can be a pivotal moment in a nation's history if the direction the country takes depends on it. Your belief in reincarnation may be pivotal to how you treat animals. Pivotal means important, but it has the sense of centrality and turning.
Vocabulary lists containing pivotal
ASVAB Word Knowledge
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This Week in Words: September 25 - October 1, 2017
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Unit 2: Pivotal Words and Phrases
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Fellow columnist Dan Neil tried one himself—the Pivotal BlackFly, a solo-piloted aircraft free to operate in unrestricted airspace.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
Microsoft’s Pivotal AI product is running into big problems.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 4, 2026
In 2023, Pivotal leased eight aircraft to an innovation arm of the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026
Pivotal Research Group analysts predict a potential slowdown in the artificial intelligence boom by mid-2026.
From Barron's • Jan. 5, 2026
Note the skillful summary of events in xxvi, and observe that this stanza is the Central Crisis and Pivotal Point of the whole Book.
From Spenser's The Faerie Queene, Book I by Spenser, Edmund
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
