Skip to content

pivote

pivot; pin

noun pee-BOH-teh Rare

Origin: French pivot, of Germanic origin.

Usage Note

Pivote entered Spanish from French and refers to the central pin or point around which something rotates, both literally (a mechanical pivot) and figuratively ('el pivote de la negociación' = the linchpin of the negotiation). In basketball, pivote is also the name for the centre position (jugar de pivote). Note the final e is always pronounced.

Examples

"El puente gira sobre un pivote central."

Natural Translation

The bridge rotates on a central pivot.

Free starter pack

Building your Spanish vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common Spanish words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore Spanish by topic