The Collaborative International Dictionary
Pivot \Piv"ot\, n. [F.; prob. akin to It. piva pipe, F. pipe. See Pipe.]
A fixed pin or short axis, on the end of which a wheel or other body turns.
The end of a shaft or arbor which rests and turns in a support; as, the pivot of an arbor in a watch.
Hence, figuratively: A turning point or condition; that on which important results depend; as, the pivot of an enterprise.
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(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.
Usage examples of "pivot bridge".
The fortified pinnacle was connected to the headland by a pivot bridge, a span which could be swivelled aside by a crew in the castle to sever the fortress from the headland.