Pivot
Pivot , noun
[French; prob. akin to Italian piva pipe, French pipe. See Pipe.]
1.
A fixed pin or short axis, on the end of which a wheel or other body turns.
2.
The end of a shaft or arbor which rests and turns in a support; as, the pivot of an arbor in a watch.
3.
Hence, figuratively: A turning point or condition; that on which important results depend; as, the pivot of an enterprise.
4.
(Military) The officer or soldier who simply turns in his place while the company or line moves around him in wheeling; -- called also pivot man.
Collocations (3)
Pivot bridge , a form of drawbridge in which one span, called the pivot span, turns about a central vertical axis.
Pivot gun , a gun mounted on a pivot or revolving carriage, so as to turn in any direction.
Pivot tooth (Dentistry) , an artificial crown attached to the root of a natural tooth by a pin or peg.
Pivot , transitive verb
To place on a pivot. — Clarke