pivot
/ˈpɪv.ɪt/noun, verb
pivot is spelled P-I-V-O-T: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pivot means “A thing on which something turns; specifically a metal pointed pin or short shaft in machinery, such as the end of an axle or spindle” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pivot is pivots.
How many letters and syllables are in pivot?
| Letters | 5: P-I-V-O-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.2 times per million words; the 14,928th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is pivot?
Pivot appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce pivot?
- UK /ˈpɪv.ɪt/
- US /ˈpɪv.ɪt/
- US /ˈpɪv.ət/
Pivot has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-pivot.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Simplificationalizer-pivot.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pivot
- pivots plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- pivoting participle, present
- pivoted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pivot mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A thing on which something turns; specifically a metal pointed pin or short shaft in machinery, such as the end of an axle or spindle.
- 2
Something or someone having a paramount significance in a certain situation.
- 3
Act of turning on one foot.
- 4
The officer or soldier who simply turns in his place while the company or line moves around him in wheeling.
- 5
A player with responsibility for co-ordinating their team in a particular jam.
- 6
An element of a set to be sorted that is chosen as a midpoint, so as to divide the other elements into two groups to be dealt with recursively.
- 7
A pivot table.
- 8
Any of a row of captioned elements used to navigate to subpages, rather like tabs.
verb
- 1
To turn on an exact spot.
- 2
slangTo change the direction of a business, usually in response to changes in the market.
- 3
USTo shift a political candidate's messaging during a general election to reflect plans and values more moderate than those advocated during the primary.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pivot in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pivot , pivotement , pivoter |
| German | Drehpunkt, Angelpunkt, Zapfen, Angelzapfen , sich drehen |
| Portuguese | pivô , girar |
| Spanish | perno, pivote , pivotar , pívot |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does pivot come from?
From Middle English pevet, *pivot, from Old French pivot (“hinge pin, pivot”) (12th c.), possibly from Latin pūgiō.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).