1. [n]  the act of turning on (or as if on) a pivot; "the golfer went to the driving range to practice his pivot"
2. [n]  axis consisting of a short shaft that supports something that turns
3. [n]  the person in a rank around whom the others wheel and maneuver
4. [v]  turn on a pivot

Pivot
Pivot

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1. \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.
   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. (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}.
   {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.
   

2. \Piv"ot\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Pivoted}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Pivoting}.]
   To place on a pivot. --Clarke.