from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Pivot \Piv"ot\, n. [F.; prob. akin to It. piva pipe, F. pipe.
See {Pipe}.]
1. A fixed pin or short axis, on the end of which a wheel or
other body turns.
[1913 Webster]
2. The end of a shaft or arbor which rests and turns in a
support; as, the pivot of an arbor in a watch.
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3. Hence, figuratively: A turning point or condition; that on
which important results depend; as, the pivot of an
enterprise.
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4. (Mil.) The officer or soldier who simply turns in his
place whike the company or line moves around him in
wheeling; -- called also {pivot man}.
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{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.
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