pivot

American  

[piv-uht] / ˈpɪv ət /

noun

• pivots
  plural

1. a pin, point, or short shaft on the end of which something rests and turns, or upon and about which something rotates or oscillates.

2. the end of a shaft or arbor, resting and turning in a bearing.

3. any thing or person on which something or someone functions or depends vitally.

   He is the pivot of my life.

4. the person in a line, as of troops on parade, whom the others use as a point about which to wheel or maneuver.

5. a whirling about on one foot.

6. a change in policy, opinion, product design, etc., that retains some continuity with its previous version, especially as part of a strategy to appeal to a different audience: the administration’s pivot toward Asia;

   a pivot in public policy;

   the administration’s pivot toward Asia;

   multiple product pivots to reach new consumers.

7. Basketball. the act of keeping one foot in place while holding the ball and moving the other foot one step in any direction, so as not to be charged with traveling.

8. Basketball.

   1. an offensive position in the front court, usually played by the center, in which the player stands facing away from the offensive basket and serves as the pivot of the offense by setting up plays through passing, making screens, and taking shots.

   2. Also called pivotman.  the player who plays in the pivot position.

9. Dentistry. (formerly) dowel.

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verb (used without object)

• pivots,
  present (3rd person singular)
• pivoted,
  past participle,  past
• pivoting
  present participle

1. to turn on or as on a pivot.

2. Basketball. to keep one foot in place while holding the ball and moving the other foot one step in any direction.

3. to modify a policy, opinion, product, etc., while retaining some continuity with its previous version, especially as part of a strategy to appeal to a different audience: The studio pivoted away from gritty realism to make the film’s sequel more family-friendly.

   The candidate will need to pivot on her unpopular position regarding prescription drug pricing.

   The studio pivoted away from gritty realism to make the film’s sequel more family-friendly.

verb (used with object)

• pivots,
  present (3rd person singular)
• pivoted,
  past participle,  past
• pivoting
  present participle

1. to mount on, attach by, or provide with a pivot or pivots.

2. to modify (a policy, opinion, product, etc.) while retaining some continuity with its previous version.

   The start-up was able to pivot the app to a new market without losing too many man-hours of coding.

pivot British  

/ ˈpɪvət /

noun

1. a short shaft or pin supporting something that turns; fulcrum

2. the end of a shaft or arbor that terminates in a bearing

3. a person or thing upon which progress, success, etc, depends

4. the person or position from which a military formation takes its reference, as when altering position

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verb

1. (tr) to mount on or provide with a pivot or pivots

2. (intr) to turn on or as if on a pivot

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• pivots
  plural

Participles

• pivoting
  present
• pivoted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• pivot
  simple
• pivots
  simple
• have pivoted
  perfect
• has pivoted
  perfect
• am pivoting
  progressive
• are pivoting
  progressive
• is pivoting
  progressive
• have been pivoting
  perfect progressive
• has been pivoting
  perfect progressive

Past

• pivoted
  simple
• had pivoted
  perfect
• was pivoting
  progressive
• were pivoting
  progressive
• had been pivoting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will pivot
  simple
• will have pivoted
  perfect
• will be pivoting
  progressive
• will have been pivoting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of pivot

First recorded in 1350–1400; < French, Middle French, Old French “hinge, pivot”; further origin uncertain, perhaps related to Catalan piu, Occitan pivèu “spindle, pivot,” and Provençal pua “tooth on a heckle (flax comb)”

Explanation

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pivot pivots pivoted pivoting

Prime Minister Mark Carney is targeting a doubling of non-U.S. exports over the next decade in an effort to pivot the country away from a reliance on the U.S. and to strengthen its resilience.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

Seeing eggs, rice, yogurt in writing makes it easier to recognize what a bunch of greens or a basket of cucumbers could become—and easier to pivot when the ingredient I imagined isn’t there.

From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026

“You have to be nimble in this business and you have to be able to pivot always,” Ripa says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

Early results suggest the pivot has been a success.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 2, 2026

Dora said, “Hum,” and she flopped back in her pivot chair and crossed her legs and smoothed her wrapper over her knees.

From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck

BP, whose performance has generally fallen behind that of its rivals in recent years, has in recent times slashed clean energy investment as it pivots back to its more profitable oil and gas business.

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

Xbox leadership has insisted the "painful" cuts across its sprawling network of studios are necessary to equip it for future success, as it pivots focus to its biggest blockbuster titles.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

The median Fed official in the “dot plot” leans toward one rate hike by the end of 2026 and quickly pivots to pencil in one rate cut in 2027.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026

One of the book’s big pivots, after a triple platinum greatest hits but nobody knew you, was challenging yourself to make a record that was you.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026

The dragon pivots its head in my direction, then lets out a furious shriek.

From "Warcross" by Marie Lu

Sales to data centers grew to 58% of revenue for the company, which has pivoted hard to serving the fastest-growing types of AI workloads.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

A newer company in the jetpool business is Revaire, founded by Harrison Epstein, who pivoted to aviation after a 15-year finance career, and Luke McNees, Diplo’s former tour manager.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

The company pivoted from a three-days-per-week requirement to a roughly three-days-per-month expectation, with each team leader deciding when more attendance is mandatory depending on when people need to be in person with their team.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

The kingdom had pivoted to exporting some of its oil from Yanbu, a Red Sea port and industrial hub.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026

Slowly Dad pivoted his shoulders and began walking away.

From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen

The by-product is pivoting into its professional era in the 21st century.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Most automakers in the U.S., including Volkswagen, Stellantis and Ford, are pivoting from their once-aggressive efforts to increase EV production.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026

Super Micro is pivoting away from selling individual components toward turnkey server racks.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026

So I shifted gears, pivoting into what is called “strengths-based” pedagogy — in this instance, meaning a discussion of how enslaved people contributed to American environmentalism as we know it today.

From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2026

At the end of the act, the illusionist takes a bow with a pivoting turn, acknowledging the entire circle as the audience applauds.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

Related Words

• depend
• rotate
• swivel
• twirl
• veer
• whirl