as in rotating
to move (something) in a curved or circular path on or as if on an axis
the telescope is mounted on a tripod so you can easily pivot it for viewing in any direction
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Recent Examples of pivoting
Hammon was answering a question about the Aces’ defense, or lack thereof, in the second half — when Las Vegas conceded 50 points to the Wings — before pivoting to the paucity of free-throw attempts for her team.
—
Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 29 May 2026
Once in place, attackers are prevented from pivoting freely from segment to segment, thereby containing potential attacks, shortening mitigation timelines and lowering financial impact.
—Jaushin Lee, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
The actor starred in the miniseries The Name of the Rose before pivoting to the delightfully twisted Evil.
—Andrew Walsh, Entertainment Weekly, 23 May 2026
Originally an aspiring cartoonist, Sedelmaier launched his ad career as an art director before pivoting to directing.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 15 May 2026
Providers have other highly effective pharmacological methods with which to terminate a pregnancy — although pivoting to any of these methods will have significant implications for patients.
—Christine Henneberg, STAT, 15 May 2026
Testing, learning, and then pivoting hard Licht, who joined Reckitt in 2019 after working for McKinsey and PepsiCo, has overseen a much broader restructuring since becoming CEO in 2023.
—Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 8 May 2026
Upon returning to the United States, Teddy briefly worked at CMT and TBS as a sales executive before pivoting to focus his career on his love of sailing.
—Alex Gurley, PEOPLE, 6 May 2026
Meanwhile, at least one country is pivoting away from digital resources by reintroducing physical books and having students return to using pen and paper.
—Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 4 May 2026
Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 29 May 2026
Once in place, attackers are prevented from pivoting freely from segment to segment, thereby containing potential attacks, shortening mitigation timelines and lowering financial impact.
—Jaushin Lee, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026
The actor starred in the miniseries The Name of the Rose before pivoting to the delightfully twisted Evil.
—Andrew Walsh, Entertainment Weekly, 23 May 2026
Originally an aspiring cartoonist, Sedelmaier launched his ad career as an art director before pivoting to directing.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 15 May 2026
Providers have other highly effective pharmacological methods with which to terminate a pregnancy — although pivoting to any of these methods will have significant implications for patients.
—Christine Henneberg, STAT, 15 May 2026
Testing, learning, and then pivoting hard Licht, who joined Reckitt in 2019 after working for McKinsey and PepsiCo, has overseen a much broader restructuring since becoming CEO in 2023.
—Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 8 May 2026
Upon returning to the United States, Teddy briefly worked at CMT and TBS as a sales executive before pivoting to focus his career on his love of sailing.
—Alex Gurley, PEOPLE, 6 May 2026
Meanwhile, at least one country is pivoting away from digital resources by reintroducing physical books and having students return to using pen and paper.
—Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 4 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pivoting
Verb
-
Local design is front and center in the lounge, including a rotating display of art and sculpture.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
-
Other classics, both food and drink, will be rotating in and out throughout the summer-long gastronomic look back.—
Tony Sachs,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
Now, the soon-to-be junior and 2024 Team USA Olympic alternate has plans of turning UGA gymnastics into a superpower, drawing enthusiasm similar to the school’s most prominent sport.—
Hunter DeLauder,
AJC.com,
3 June 2026
-
The company specializes in repurposing old baseball gloves and turning them into one-of-a-kind leather products, particularly wallets, billfolds, card cases and money clips.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
Alex Edwards kneeled on the carpet to calm down Zuri Kafuko, 3, by twisting part of her hair back in place.—
William J. Ford,
Baltimore Sun,
25 May 2026
-
Press straight down to cut the dough, without twisting the cutter, to keep the layers intact.—
Terrence Hayes,
Southern Living,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
The mustache-twirling villain flees, both Half-ATs and full-on AT-AT Walkers come into play, and our hero and Grogu finish the job.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
25 May 2026
-
Stephens never plays a mustache-twirling sadist, instead carrying himself with the unbearable confidence of a man truly convinced that his version of abuse and even murder is civilized.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
The prototype was integrated with low-loss superconducting windings, a novel brushless starting mechanism, and internal cryogenic cooling that functions while spinning.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
3 June 2026
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On one side of the ball, the spinning surface moves in the same direction as the airflow, causing an increase in air velocity.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pivoting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pivoting. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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