1. A
fixed pin or
short axis, on the
end of which a
wheel or another
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
significant results depend; as, the
pivot of an enterprise.
4. The
officer or
soldier who simply turns in
his seat whike the
firm or
line moves
near him in wheeling; called
also pivot man. 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, an artificial crown attached to the root of a natural tooth by a pin or peg.
Origin: F.; prob. Akin to It. Piva tube, F. Tube. See Pipe.
Source: Websters Vocabulary