lynchpin

American  

[linch-pin] / ˈlɪntʃˌpɪn /

noun

1. a variant of linchpin.

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lynchpin British  

/ ˈlɪntʃˌpɪn /

noun

1. a variant spelling of linchpin

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Usage

What does lynchpin mean? Lynchpin is an alternate spelling of linchpin—the person or thing that serves as the essential element in a complicated or delicate system or structure (the one that holds everything together).This sense of the word is based on its original, literal meaning: an actual pin used to attach a wheel to the axle of a carriage or wagon to keep the wheel from falling off. It’s a good metaphor: a lynchpin is someone or something that keeps the wheels from falling off of an operation—they keep the whole thing working.Lynchpin is not related to the verb lynch. It is much less commonly used than linchpin.Example: Their point guard wasn’t their main scorer, but she was the lynchpin to the team’s success, and they started to lose a lot of games after she was injured.

Example Sentences

After first suiting up in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger, Evans' "Cap" became a lynchpin within the MCU's biggest box office successes.

From BBC

Fuel availability remains the biggest lynchpin—not just for Oklo, but for all nuclear companies.

From Barron's

In order to combat the issue, efforts to offer housing opportunities - long a lynchpin of San Francisco's approach to addressing homelessness - accelerated.

From BBC

Daughter Sue described her 86-year-old mother as the "lynchpin" of the family.

From BBC

But in sheer audience size and cultural reach, JRE is arguably the lynchpin of this podcast tour.

From BBC