linchpin
To adopt as, or serve as, a central cohesive source of stability and securityTo adopt as, or serve as, a central cohesive source of stability and security.
» The army is the linchpin of North Korean dictatorship.
PeterR · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
1 sensesTo adopt as, or serve as, a central cohesive source of stability and security.
Examples
3 sentencesThe army is the linchpin of North Korean dictatorship.
Algeria is the central linchpin of the Maghreb region both economically and politically.
The EU initially planned to use AstraZeneca as a linchpin in its vaccination campaign.
Origin
From Middle English lynspin, compound of lins (“axletree”) and pin, from Old English lynisFrom Middle English lynspin, compound of lins (“axletree”) and pin, from Old English lynis (“lynchpin”), from Proto-West Germanic *lunis, from Proto-Germanic *lunaz – compare German Lünse and Dutch luns – from Proto-Indo-European. Possible further cognates are Welsh olwyn (“wheel”), Old Armenian ողն (ołn, “back; spine, backbone”) and Sanskrit आणि (āṇí, “lynchpin”). Figurative use attested from the mid-20th century.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
linchpins, linchpinning, linchpinned, linchpinned| Base form | linchpin · to linchpin |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | linchpins |
| Present participle | linchpinning |
| Past simple | linchpinned |
| Past participle | linchpinned |
regular · Lesson
Lessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.