piv·ot
(pĭv́ət)
[French, from Old French.]
noun
- A short rod or shaft on which a related part rotates or swings.
- A person or thing on which something depends or turns; the central or crucial factor.
- The act of turning on or as if on a pivot.
- Basketball
- A position taken by an offensive player usually facing away from the basket near the foul line to relay passes, attempt a shot, or set screens.
- The stationary foot around which the ball handler is allowed to pivot without dribbling.
verb: -ot·ed, -ot·ing, -ots.
transitive verb
- To mount on, attach by, or provide with a pivot or pivots.
- To cause to rotate, revolve, or turn.
intransitive verb
- To turn on or as if on a pivot: “The plot . . . lacks direction, pivoting on Hamlet's incertitude” (G. Wilson Knight)
derivatives
- piv́ot·a·ble
- adjective
