Pivot

·vt To place on a pivot.

II. Pivot ·noun A fixed pin or short axis, on the end of which a wheel or other body turns.

III. Pivot ·noun The end of a shaft or arbor which rests and turns in a support; as, the pivot of an arbor in a watch.

IV. Pivot ·noun The officer or soldier who simply turns in his place whike the company or line moves around him in wheeling;

— called also pivot man.

V. Pivot ·noun Hence, figuratively: A turning point or condition; that on which important results depend; as, the pivot of an Enterprise.

pivot
A cylinder of iron or other metal, that may turn easily in a socket. Also, in a column of troops, th...

The Sailor's Word-Book
pivot-gun
Mounted on a frame carriage which can be turned radially, so as to point the piece in any direction....

The Sailor's Word-Book
pivot-ship
In certain fleet evolutions, the sternmost ship remains stationary, as a pivot upon which the other ...

The Sailor's Word-Book
Pivot City, The
a nickname for Geelong. 1860. W. Kelly, `Life in Victoria,' vol. i. p. 160[Footnote]: «The Pivot C...

Dictionary of Australasian Words Phrases and Usages by Edward E. Morris