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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

pivot

/ˈpɪv.ɪt/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 1:05
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What does pivot mean?

noun

  1. A thing on which something turns; specifically a metal pointed pin or short shaft in machinery, such as the end of an axle or spindle.
  2. (figuratively) Something or someone having a paramount significance in a certain situation.
  3. Act of turning on one foot.
More meanings (13)

noun

  1. The officer or soldier who simply turns in his place while the company or line moves around him in wheeling.
  2. A player with responsibility for co-ordinating their team in a particular jam.
  3. An element of a set to be sorted that is chosen as a midpoint, so as to divide the other elements into two groups to be dealt with recursively.
  4. A pivot table.
  5. Any of a row of captioned elements used to navigate to subpages, rather like tabs.
  6. An element of a matrix that is used as a focus for row operations, such as dividing the row by the pivot, or adding multiples of the row to other rows making all other values in the pivot column 0.
  7. A pivotal quantity.
  8. A quarterback.
  9. A circle runner.
  10. A shift during a general election in a political candidate's messaging to reflect plans and values more moderate than those advocated during the primary.

verb

  1. To turn on an exact spot.
  2. (slang) To change the direction of a business, usually in response to changes in the market.
  3. To shift a political candidate's messaging during a general election to reflect plans and values more moderate than those advocated during the primary.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈpɪv.ɪt/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Other dictionary pronunciations

/ˈpɪv.ət/
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

Her reason for standing so dead still as the pivot of this circle of heath-country was just as obscure.
Thomas HardyThe Return of the NativeProject Gutenberg ebook #122
It was as if the pivot and pole of his life, from which he could not escape, was his mother.
D. H. (David Herbert) LawrenceSons and LoversProject Gutenberg ebook #217
More book examples (3)
Its pivot had been destroyed in transit and Correll had replaced it by a gramophone needle, which was found too insensitive.
Douglas, Sir MawsonThe Home of the Blizzard Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914Project Gutenberg ebook #6137
With its crown of awls driven into the pith, the animal frets and fidgets, sways on the pivot of its anal armor.
Jean-Henri FabreThe Life of the Fly; With Which are Interspersed Some Chapters of AutobiographyTranslated by Alexander Teixeira de MattosProject Gutenberg ebook #3422
One of Taylor's mates was guiding the pivot of the try-sail into the main boom, when a tackle gave way.
George M. (George Milbrey) Gould; Walter L. (Walter Lytle) PyleAnomalies and Curiosities of MedicineProject Gutenberg ebook #747