To pivot means to turn or rotate around a single fixed point, like a door swinging on its hinges or a basketball player spinning on one foot while keeping the other planted on the ground. The fixed point is called the pivot point. When you watch a dancer pirouette, they're pivoting on the ball of one foot.

The word also describes making a significant change in direction or strategy. When a business pivots, it might stop selling one product and focus on something completely different because the first approach wasn't working. A student working on a science fair project might pivot when their initial experiment fails, switching to a new approach while keeping some of what they learned.

In both uses, the key idea is rotation or redirection. A physical pivot keeps one point fixed while everything else moves around it. A strategic pivot keeps your core goal the same (like having a successful business or doing well at the science fair) while changing your method of getting there.