Correct use of the word "Pivot"

[Nostic]

Im a Danish student, and in my assignment about Gunlaws I have to include the word "Pivot", i've done some research on it, but im not sure if it is used correctly. I hope someone can tell me, if it is, or not, and what else I can do. (Keep in mind this is a "Letter to the editor"-kind of assignment):

"Having a gun is not only a proof of the American freedom, it is a hobby, lifer saver, and for some people it is the pivot of their life."

Thanks in advance.
-Nostic

 

[Raymott]

Im a Danish student, and in my assignment about Gunlaws I have to include the word "Pivot", i've done some research on it, but im not sure if it is used correctly. I hope someone can tell me, if it is, or not, and what else I can do. (Keep in mind this is a "Letter to the editor"-kind of assignment):

"Having a gun is not only a proof of the American freedom, it is a hobby, lifer saver, and for some people it is the pivot of their life."

Thanks in advance.
-Nostic

I wouldn't consider 'pivot' to be a sensible word to make a student fit into such an essay about gun laws. Do you get a choice of 'pivotal' or other forms?
If you're desperate, you could check here:
Pivot gun - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Nostic]

I wouldn't consider 'pivot' to be a sensible word to make a student fit into such an essay about gun laws. Do you get a choice of 'pivotal' or other forms?
If you're desperate, you could check here:

We have a list of words we MUST use, but the topic was my choice, from a list of 20-25 topics. Theese topics were all presentated in my class a few weeks ago, so we just had to choose one to write about. It does not state if i can choose other forms, though i may use it as a verb or noun. Thanks for the respond, ill check out the link.

EDIT: Question: Even though it is not a sensible word, is it still used in a correct way? Or is it completely wrong.

 

[SoothingDave]

It sounds odd to me. "Pivot" is usually used as a verb, when one turns from one thing to another.

I would use "center of their lives" in your sentence.

 

[Nostic]

It sounds odd to me. "Pivot" is usually used as a verb, when one turns from one thing to another.

I would use "center of their lives" in your sentence.

That does sound better, but im unsure how im gonna use the word pivot then. As said, it is a letter to the editor, and im discussing for less gun control​.

 

[SoothingDave]

"Pivot" is in the dictionary as you have used it, but I don't think it would be understood. It's not a common use. Try:

"As after every tragedy, the national conversation pivots to ineffective proposals to further hamper the law-abiding gun owner."

 

[Barb_D]

Dave's suggestion is a good one. You could also talk about whether someone's life "pivots around" their use of guns -- that is, whether guns are pivotal to their life.

On another note, please don't use "gonna" (or wanna, or other "words" that are based on how we say a word when speaking), and please remember to capitalize the pronoun "I." Twice you wrote "im" instead of "I'm."

 

[Nostic]

Thanks for the help and advice, I'm sorry for my "language", I'm very used to the lazy internet chat language.

 

[emsr2d2]

Thanks for the help and advice, I'm sorry for my "language", I'm very used to the lazy internet chat language.

There's no need to apologise, just remember in future on the forum that you should use full English words, correct capitalisation and punctuation. We don't want to spend a long time correcting simple mistakes in your posts and you don't want to keep seeing the same corrections.