Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To correct or set right; adjust.
  • intransitive verb To restore to proper condition or working order; repair.
  • intransitive verb To make ready for a specific purpose, as by altering or combining elements; prepare.
  • intransitive verb To spay or castrate (an animal).
  • intransitive verb To influence the outcome or actions of (something) by improper or unlawful means.
  • intransitive verb Informal To take revenge upon (someone); get even with.
  • intransitive verb To place securely; make stable or firm: synonym: fasten.
  • intransitive verb To secure to another; attach.
  • intransitive verb To put into a stable or unalterable form.
  • intransitive verb To make (a chemical substance) nonvolatile or solid.
  • intransitive verb Biology To convert (nitrogen or carbon) into stable, biologically assimilable compounds.
  • intransitive verb To kill and preserve (a specimen) intact for microscopic study.
  • intransitive verb To prevent discoloration of (a photographic image) by washing or coating with a chemical preservative.
  • intransitive verb To direct steadily.
  • intransitive verb To capture or hold.
  • intransitive verb To set or place definitely; establish.
  • intransitive verb To determine with accuracy; ascertain.
  • intransitive verb To agree on; arrange.
  • intransitive verb To assign; attribute.
  • intransitive verb Computers To convert (data) from floating-point notation to fixed-point notation.
  • intransitive verb To direct one's efforts or attention; concentrate.
  • intransitive verb To become stable or firm; harden.
  • intransitive verb Chiefly Southern US To be on the verge of; to be making preparations for. Used in progressive tenses with the infinitive.
  • noun The act of adjusting, correcting, or repairing.
  • noun Informal Something that repairs or restores; a solution.
  • noun The position, as of a ship or aircraft, determined by visual observations with the aid of equipment.
  • noun A clear determination or understanding.
  • noun An instance of arranging a special consideration, such as an exemption from a requirement, or an improper or illegal outcome, especially by means of bribery.
  • noun A difficult or embarrassing situation; a predicament: synonym: predicament.
  • noun Slang An amount or dose of something craved, especially an intravenous injection of a narcotic.
  • idiom (fix (someone's) wagon) To get revenge on another.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In naut. surv., the operation of determining (‘fixing’) the position of an unknown point by the three-point problem, which involves the measurement, at the point, of the two angles between lines running to three known visible points.
  • noun A critical condition; a predicament; a difficulty; a dilemma.
  • To fasten; make fast by some material means: attach or confine firmly or securely: also used figuratively of immaterial things.
  • Figuratively, to direct intently or persistently, so as to be as it were fastened to its object: as, to fix the mind on a subject; to fix the eyes or the attention.
  • To hold firmly; restrain from wandering or wavering; arrest: as, to fix one with the eyes; to fix the attention of an audience; to fix inconstant affections.
  • To establish; give permanence or a permanent character to; make permanent; confirm.
  • To establish in position or in a situation; settle or place stably; plant firmly: as, to fix a lance in rest; the fixed stars (see fixed, 2).
  • To make stable in consistence or condition; reduce from fluidity or volatility to a more permanent state; make less volatile or fugitive: as, cold fixes water in the form of ice; to fix colors by a mordant.
  • To reduce to a concrete state; seize and put into permanent form: as, to fix one's thoughts on paper, or a conception on canvas.
  • To establish as a fact or a conclusion; determine or settle definitely; make certain: as, this event fixed his destiny; to fix the meaning of a word.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English fixen, from fix, fixed in position, from Latin fīxus, past participle of fīgere, to fasten; see dhīgw- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French fixer, from fixe, from Latin fixus.

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Examples

  • When we were about to sign the above-mentioned articles, which were to be binding upon us, our heirs, etc., for fifty years, Mr. Brockden, the scrivener, said to us, "You are young men, but it is scarcely probable that any of you will live to see the expiration of the term fix'd in the instrument."

    The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (1994 Edition) 1909

  • When we were about to sign the above-mentioned articles, which were to be binding upon us, our heirs, etc., for fifty years, Mr. Brockden, the scrivener, said to us, “You are young men, but it is scarcely probable that any of you will live to see the expiration of the term fix’d in the instrument.

    Paras. 151-200 1909

  • When we were about to sign the above-mentioned articles, which were to be binding upon us, our heirs, etc., for fifty years, Mr. Brockden, the scrivener, said to us, "You are young men, but it is scarcely probable that any of you will live to see the expiration of the term fix'd in the instrument."

    The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin 1771

  • When we were about to sign the above mentioned articles, which were to be binding on us, our heirs, etc., for fifty years, Mr. Brockden, the scrivener, said to us, "You are young men, but it is scarcely probable that any of you will live to see the expiration of the term fix'd in the instrument."

    Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin 1748

  • When we were about to sign the above-mentioned articles, which were to be binding upon us, our heirs, etc., for fifty years, Mr. Brockden, the scrivener, said to us, "You are young men, but it is scarcely probable that any of you will live to see the expiration of the term fix'd in the instrument."

    The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin 1748

  • Unfortunately, it turns out that the model released in Australia through Telstra has a bit of a GPS bug, though a fix is apparently on the way.

    HTC Desire Has A GPS Bug | Lifehacker Australia 2010

  • Everywhere I go, people ask "Why bother if the fix is already in?"

    Christine Pelosi: Democrats Push Voter Protection While GOP Shout Voter Fraud in a Crowded Polling Place Christine Pelosi 2010

  • Once the light bulb's gone off on a scene, I can't make a note and come back to it later because the idea for the fix is an organic part of the process.

    kateelliott: Writing the Wrong Words kateelliott 2009

  • Unfortunately, it turns out that the model released in Australia through Telstra has a bit of a GPS bug, though a fix is apparently on the way.

    Sunday, April 25, 2010 | Lifehacker Australia 2010

  • Everywhere I go, people ask "Why bother if the fix is already in?"

    Christine Pelosi: Democrats Push Voter Protection While GOP Shout Voter Fraud in a Crowded Polling Place Christine Pelosi 2010

Comments

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  • A contronym: both to restore and to remove (castrate).

    May 14, 2008