linchpin

The definition of a linchpin is a pin that holds the wheel onto the end of an axle, or something that holds things together.

(noun)

An example of a linchpin is an argument that connects evidence and effectively proofs a point.

See linchpin in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

a pin that goes through the end of an axle outside the wheel to keep the wheel from coming off
anything serving to hold together the parts of a whole

Origin: ME lynspin < lyns (< OE lynis, linchpin, akin to Ger lünse < IE base *(e)lei- to bend > ell, Sans āṇíh, linchpin) + pin, pin

See linchpin in American Heritage Dictionary 4

or lynch·pin

noun

A locking pin inserted in the end of a shaft, as in an axle, to prevent a wheel from slipping off.
A central cohesive element: Reduced spending is the linchpin of their economic program.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English linspin

Origin: : lins, linchpin (from Old English lynis)

Origin: + pin, pin (from Old English pinn; see pin)

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