pivotal
/ˈpɪvɪtəl/adjective
pivotal is spelled P-I-V-O-T-A-L: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, pivotal means “Of, relating to, or being a pivot” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in pivotal?
| Letters | 7: P-I-V-O-T-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (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 pivotal?
Pivotal 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 pivotal?
- UK /ˈpɪvɪtəl/
- UK /ˈpɪvətəl/
- US /ˈpɪvɪtəl/
Pivotal has 3 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-pivotal.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pivotal
- more pivotal comparative
- most pivotal superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pivotal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of, relating to, or being a pivot.
- 2
Being of crucial importance; central, key.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pivotal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | pivotal , crucial |
| French | central, crucial, déterminant, essentiel |
| German | entscheidend, ausschlaggebend, Dreh-, Zapfen-, Angel-, Zentral- |
| Portuguese | pivotal, crucial |
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 pivotal come from?
From pivot + -al.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).