pivotar
/piboˈtaɾ/
To pivot in Spanish is pivotar.
In a business context, pivotar is used to describe the act of changing a company's strategy or direction to adapt to new information or market conditions.
How does it change in a sentence?
The past participle of pivotar is pivotado, which is used to form perfect tenses, such as ha pivotado (has pivoted).
How do you pronounce it?
/piboˈtaɾ/
Did you know?
- The word pivotar was borrowed from the French pivoter rather than directly from English, reflecting the strong influence of French administrative and technical terms on Spanish.
- In many Spanish-speaking business environments, using the anglicism pivotar can actually make a speaker sound more 'modern' or 'globalized' than using traditional Spanish verbs for change.
- While pivotar is used in business today, it is also a technical term in basketball for the movement a player makes while keeping one foot planted on the court.
Examples in context
- Debemos pivotar para no perder dinero.We must pivot so as not to lose money.
- La empresa decidió pivotar hacia el mercado digital.The company decided to pivot towards the digital market.
- Es necesario pivotar rápidamente tras el cambio de leyes.It is necessary to pivot quickly after the change in laws.
Example conversation
Two business partners are discussing their struggling startup in a cafe.
- SofíaJavier, creo que tenemos que pivotar ahora.Javier, I think we have to pivot now.
- JavierTienes razón, el modelo actual no funciona.You are right, the current model does not work.
- Sofía¿Qué estrategia propones para pivotar?What strategy do you propose to pivot?
- JavierPodemos enfocar todo nuestro esfuerzo en la suscripción.We can focus all our effort on the subscription.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry pivotar, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries pivotar, CC BY-SA 4.0.
