plural pivots
1
: a shaft or pin on which something turns
2
a
: a person, thing, or factor having a major or central role, function, or effect
b
: a key player or position
specifically
: an offensive position of a basketball player standing usually with back to the basket to relay passes, shoot, or provide a screen for teammates
3
: the action of pivoting
especially
: the action in basketball of stepping with one foot while keeping the other foot at its point of contact with the floor
4
: a usually marked change
The idea of allowing a [marijuana] dispensary in the city is a pivot from the stance previously held by the council, which voted in early 2018 to ban sales in the city.—
Katie Sobko
Katie Sobko
especially
: an adjustment or modification made (as to a product, service, or strategy) in order to adapt or improve
A global pandemic strikes a business. The adaptable owner assesses the situation, predicts the future, and starts their pivot. —Jodie Cook
Jodie Cook The company even redesigned its logo to look more like an electrical plug to emphasize its pivot to battery-powered vehicles. —Andrew J. Hawkins
Andrew J. Hawkins The debate around the use of tools to track employee productivity has grown since the pivot to remote work in 2020. —Owen Hughes
Owen Hughes The pivot to virtual learning impacted income and occupancy rates of hotels at colleges … —Melissa Angell
Melissa Angell
pivoted; pivoting; pivots
1
: to turn on or as if on a pivot
a TV stand that pivots
She pivoted on her heel and stalked out of the room.
(figurative) The plot pivots on the discovery that Emily, who had for years been presumed dead, is found alive.—Debi Enker and Melinda Houston
Debi Enker and Melinda Houston2
: to adapt or improve by adjusting or modifying something (such as a product, service, or strategy)
In my first product business, I didn't know when to pivot and lost everything as a result. When your output (money) exceeds your input, or you can't afford to pay yourself, it's time to pivot.—India Gary-Martin
India Gary-MartinRestauranteur Jordan Rulloda has been grinding through this pandemic. … Rulloda says he and his small team have pivoted the best they can.—Lyndsay Morrison
Lyndsay MorrisonThe city famed for steel mills that powered America's industrial rise has steadily pivoted toward technology and health care …—Jonathan Lemire et al.
Jonathan Lemire et al.1
: to provide with, mount on, or attach by a pivot
a pivoted mechanism
2
: to cause to pivot
pivoted the camera
3
: to adapt or improve by adjusting or modifying (something, such as a product, service, or strategy)
Pharmacies have pivoted their businesses to meet the demands of mass vaccination services …—Nick Thayer
Nick Thayer… many organizations have pivoted their operations by taking services online to adapt to current conditions and strengthen business resiliency.—Desmond Nair
Desmond Nair… sales departments have pivoted the way they're restaffing and handling sales meetings—rather than putting 100 workers back out in the field, they're deploying their teams in strategic ways and outsourcing sales until they hire again.—Zeenath Kuraisha
Zeenath Kuraisha
Did you know?
Pivot is a French borrowing that slowly evolved grammatically in the English language. It began as a noun in the 14th century designating a shaft or pin on which something turns ("The chair turns on a pivot"). Later it was applied to any central person or thing around which action revolves. The noun then came to denote the action of turning about, oscillating, or balancing on or as if on a point ("the pivot of the golfer's body"; "a pivot in advertising strategy"). Adjectival use followed, always functioning as a synonym of the derivative pivotal describing things that are the pivot, that are vitally important or critical ("a pivot decision"). The word evolved yet again in the 19th century to become a verb indicating the act of turning, literally and figuratively, about a point ("The player pivoted and passed the ball"; "The plot pivots on revenge"). In wider extended use, it can imply a change of direction ("The company pivoted towards marketing remote learning tools and resources").
Synonyms
Examples of pivot in a Sentence
Noun
an issue that is the real pivot of the controversy
Verb
The dancers pivoted on their toes and changed direction.
The door hinge pivots around the pin.
The quarterback pivoted and threw the ball to the running back.
Recent Examples on the WebLarisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 11 Apr. 2024
Singh gave one example of Multiverse helping to retrain more than 5000 bank tellers in the U.S.
Singh describes Multiverse’s movement into upskilling as an addition to the group’s apprenticeship offering, rather than a pivot away from it.
—Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 9 Apr. 2024
Finally, De Bethune’s floating lugs pivot from the mid case, making this one of the most comfortable large watches ever designed.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 6 Apr. 2024
The latest rebrand suggests a pivot from a tour focusing on the new album’s songs to one spanning her discography, a move that may entice listeners who didn’t connect with her latest material.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 2 Apr. 2024
But in the year preceding that decision, the company also saw significant leadership changes and a pivot to consolidating real estate to help boost profit margins, the Observer previously reported.
—Chase Jordan, Charlotte Observer, 2 Apr. 2024
Our tester especially loved the herringbone design on the soles which helped grip the court while still allowing for pivots and other intentional sliding.
—Madison Yauger, Peoplemag, 27 Mar. 2024
Redditors howled at these changes — and Mr. Wong’s successor as C.E.O., Ellen Pao, was chased out by a horde of angry users — but the company’s pivot to respectability was an undeniable success.
—Kevin Roose, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024
The key, of course, is that Xi makes a dramatic pivot toward doing things in a more forward-looking way.
—William Pesek, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 28 Mar. 2024
And the results on April 3 could be a pivot point in that process.
—Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Mar. 2024
The construction of the Stade de France — the national soccer stadium — in 1998 marked a pivot point, bringing in new urban transport and luring tourists as well as the headquarters of French blue chip companies.
—Catherine Porter, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2024
The amygdala is actually a pivot point in this approach-versus-avoid system.
—Quanta Magazine, 15 Feb. 2024
Setting up a budget, tucking some money away into savings, and cutting back on excessive spending are all great starts, but understand that there is more to this pivot point.
—Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Nov. 2023
Well, this is the pivot point of the season and of Loki’s story here, and a lot of times, these pivot points can seem like the end of the journey.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Oct. 2023
But like similar countries that reached this pivot point, such as Brazil in the 1970s and Japan in the 1980s, China did not reform its growth model.
—Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 3 Oct. 2023
With the program off and running, the goals now pivot from creating a program, to competing as a program.
—Timothy Dashiell, Baltimore Sun, 24 Aug. 2023
Detroit Free Press, 3 Apr. 2024
Dear Elaine: What safety nets are necessary to pivot a career change that involves going to school to learn a new skill set?
—Elaine Welteroth, Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2024
Stabilizing the Dali is a top priority Preventing the ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge from pivoting and refloating it away from the bridge’s wreckage are key goals for the Army Corps of Engineers, according to a senior U.S. official and Corps documents.
—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2024
But after a rundown of the movie—alongside its director, Thea Sharrock—the Brit quickly pivoted to her frustrations with the Hollywood machine.
—Jane Thier, Fortune, 26 Mar. 2024
Martin hails from Logansport, La., and worked on an oil rig before pivoting to music.
—Xander Zellner, Billboard, 26 Mar. 2024
Christopher Polk/Getty Images Now Nikolas, who has pivoted to using her platform to call out and expose abusive behaviors in the child acting industry, is pointing out that these apologies have never actually been made.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 20 Mar. 2024
The next evening, the showcase pivoted in another, no less-potent, direction, mixing up hip-hop with innovative sounds from Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria, and more.
—Rolling Stone, 22 Mar. 2024
For their part, many universities are pivoting to incorporate AI in courses on computer science and other disciplines.
—Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024
Noun
The song itself quietly fizzled out, but behind the scenes, the rapper was plotting his pivot.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 11 Apr. 2024
Singh gave one example of Multiverse helping to retrain more than 5000 bank tellers in the U.S.
Singh describes Multiverse’s movement into upskilling as an addition to the group’s apprenticeship offering, rather than a pivot away from it.
—Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 9 Apr. 2024
Finally, De Bethune’s floating lugs pivot from the mid case, making this one of the most comfortable large watches ever designed.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 6 Apr. 2024
The latest rebrand suggests a pivot from a tour focusing on the new album’s songs to one spanning her discography, a move that may entice listeners who didn’t connect with her latest material.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 2 Apr. 2024
But in the year preceding that decision, the company also saw significant leadership changes and a pivot to consolidating real estate to help boost profit margins, the Observer previously reported.
—Chase Jordan, Charlotte Observer, 2 Apr. 2024
Our tester especially loved the herringbone design on the soles which helped grip the court while still allowing for pivots and other intentional sliding.
—Madison Yauger, Peoplemag, 27 Mar. 2024
Redditors howled at these changes — and Mr. Wong’s successor as C.E.O., Ellen Pao, was chased out by a horde of angry users — but the company’s pivot to respectability was an undeniable success.
—Kevin Roose, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024
The key, of course, is that Xi makes a dramatic pivot toward doing things in a more forward-looking way.
—William Pesek, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Adjective
The new permitting process marks a pivot point for NYC.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 28 Mar. 2024
And the results on April 3 could be a pivot point in that process.
—Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Mar. 2024
The construction of the Stade de France — the national soccer stadium — in 1998 marked a pivot point, bringing in new urban transport and luring tourists as well as the headquarters of French blue chip companies.
—Catherine Porter, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2024
The amygdala is actually a pivot point in this approach-versus-avoid system.
—Quanta Magazine, 15 Feb. 2024
Setting up a budget, tucking some money away into savings, and cutting back on excessive spending are all great starts, but understand that there is more to this pivot point.
—Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 Nov. 2023
Well, this is the pivot point of the season and of Loki’s story here, and a lot of times, these pivot points can seem like the end of the journey.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Oct. 2023
But like similar countries that reached this pivot point, such as Brazil in the 1970s and Japan in the 1980s, China did not reform its growth model.
—Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 3 Oct. 2023
With the program off and running, the goals now pivot from creating a program, to competing as a program.
—Timothy Dashiell, Baltimore Sun, 24 Aug. 2023
Verb
This is precisely why competitors, including General Motors, are pivoting to add hybrid options to their lineup.
—Detroit Free Press, 3 Apr. 2024
Dear Elaine: What safety nets are necessary to pivot a career change that involves going to school to learn a new skill set?
—Elaine Welteroth, Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2024
Stabilizing the Dali is a top priority Preventing the ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge from pivoting and refloating it away from the bridge’s wreckage are key goals for the Army Corps of Engineers, according to a senior U.S. official and Corps documents.
—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2024
But after a rundown of the movie—alongside its director, Thea Sharrock—the Brit quickly pivoted to her frustrations with the Hollywood machine.
—Jane Thier, Fortune, 26 Mar. 2024
Martin hails from Logansport, La., and worked on an oil rig before pivoting to music.
—Xander Zellner, Billboard, 26 Mar. 2024
Christopher Polk/Getty Images Now Nikolas, who has pivoted to using her platform to call out and expose abusive behaviors in the child acting industry, is pointing out that these apologies have never actually been made.
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 20 Mar. 2024
The next evening, the showcase pivoted in another, no less-potent, direction, mixing up hip-hop with innovative sounds from Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria, and more.
—Rolling Stone, 22 Mar. 2024
For their part, many universities are pivoting to incorporate AI in courses on computer science and other disciplines.
—Samantha Masunaga, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pivot.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
French
First Known Use
Noun
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Adjective
1796, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1841, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense
Time Traveler
The first known use of pivot was
in the 14th century
Phrases Containing pivot
Podcast
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
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Dictionary Entries Near pivot
Cite this Entry
“Pivot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pivot. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
pivot
1 of 2 noun
piv·ot
ˈpiv-ət 
1
: a shaft or pin on which something turns
2
: something on which something else turns or depends : a central member, part, or point
pivot
2 of 2 verb1
: to turn on or as if on a pivot
the guns are mounted in such a way as to pivot easily
the future pivots on what is done today
2
: to provide with, mount on, or attach by a pivot
Medical Definition
pivot
noun
piv·ot
ˈpiv-ət
: a usually metallic pin holding an artificial crown to the root of a tooth
More from Merriam-Webster on pivot
Nglish: Translation of pivot for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of pivot for Arabic Speakers
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