From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpivotalpiv‧ot‧al /ˈpɪvətəl/ adjective IMPORTANTmore important than anything else in a situation, system etc SYN key The Bank of England has a pivotal role in the London money market.pivotal to The talks are pivotal to the success of the country.
Examples from the Corpus
pivotal• And, measured by the number of delegates at stake, the next, the pivotal battleground would be New York.• The second set of functions relates to boards being pivotal between school, parents and community.• Not too long ago, Dole talked of locking up the nomination with a big victory in the pivotal Granite State.• Western diplomats believe the role of the well-armed Yugoslav military will prove pivotal in deciding whether all-out war erupts in Bosnia.• Nixon was pivotal in raising the Republican Party's standing among Jewish people.• The country faces a pivotal presidential election in June in which the choice is quite simply to go forward or regress.• So we come down to the pivotal question of what quality management is to be based on.• Venison plays a pivotal role in our culinary heritage.pivotal role• Hollandshort, bespectacled and plain-spoken-allows that there was some initial studio skepticism about casting Leigh in the pivotal role.• Many of the recipes for braised and grilled dishes employ thyme in a pivotal role.• But the private sector had the pivotal role as the provider of jobs and the builder of the new urban resource base.• Venison plays a pivotal role in our culinary heritage.• Hoddle's pivotal role in Swindon's sweeper system stifled United's customary flowing football.• Religious conservatives such as Curry will play a pivotal role in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.• The present article starts by highlighting the pivotal role of police results in the criminal process. 