Piv"ot (?), n. [F.; prob. akin to It.
piva pipe, F. pipe. See Pipe.] 1.
A fixed pin or short axis, on the end of which a wheel or other
body turns.
2. The end of a shaft or arbor which rests and
turns in a support; as, the pivot of an arbor in a
watch.
3. Hence, figuratively: A turning point or
condition; that on which important results depend; as, the
pivot of an enterprise.
4. (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.
Piv"ot, v. t. [imp. & p.
p. Pivoted; p. pr. & vb. n.
Pivoting.] To place on a pivot. Clarke.