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definitions

pivot

[piv-uh t]
See more synonyms for pivot on Thesaurus.com
noun
  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. 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 walking.
  7. 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.
  8. Dentistry. (formerly) dowel(def 4).
verb (used without object)
  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.
verb (used with object)
  1. to mount on, attach by, or provide with a pivot or pivots.

Origin of pivot

1605–15; < French pivot (noun), pivoter (v.), Old French < ?
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for pivoted

whirl, swivel, rotate, depend, veer, twirl, wheel, sheer, hang, rely, hinge, turn, spin, whip, volte-face

Examples from the Web for pivoted

Contemporary Examples of pivoted

Historical Examples of pivoted

  • Round behind Teutoberg he pivoted—a wrestling trick he had learned as a boy.

    The Space Rover

    Edwin K. Sloat

  • This bar is also of copper or brass and is pivoted to the fingers.

  • She pivoted on her heel, hit the door, and her heels were clattering on the stairs.

    Police Your Planet

    Lester del Rey

  • Slowly, he pivoted his chair, to look at the entertainment screen.

    Final Weapon

    Everett B. Cole

  • Next, the gooseneck of the truss, on which it pivoted, smashed away.

British Dictionary definitions for pivoted

pivot

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
verb
  1. (tr) to mount on or provide with a pivot or pivots
  2. (intr) to turn on or as if on a pivot

Word Origin for pivot

C17: from Old French; perhaps related to Old Provençal pua tooth of a comb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for pivoted

pivot

n.

1610s, from French pivot, from Old French pivot "hinge pin, pivot" (12c.), also "penis," of uncertain origin. Figurative sense of "central point" is recorded from 1813.

pivot

v.

by 1841, from French pivoter and from pivot (n). Related: Pivoted; pivoting.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper