fix Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun informal terms for a difficult situation
    kettle of fish; mess; muddle; jam; hole; pickle.
    • he got into a terrible fix
    • he made a muddle of his marriage
  2. noun something craved, especially an intravenous injection of a narcotic drug
    • she needed a fix of chocolate
  3. noun the act of putting something in working order again
    repair; reparation; fixing; mending; fixture; mend.
  4. noun an exemption granted after influence (e.g., money) is brought to bear
    • collusion resulted in tax fixes for gamblers
  5. noun a determination of the place where something is
    localisation; locating; location; localization.
    • he got a good fix on the target
  6. verb restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken
    repair; touch on; doctor; furbish up; restore; mend; bushel.
    • She repaired her TV set
    • Repair my shoes please
  7. verb cause to be firmly attached
    fasten; secure.
    • fasten the lock onto the door
    • she fixed her gaze on the man
  8. verb decide upon or fix definitely
    set; limit; determine; specify; define.
    • fix the variables
    • specify the parameters
  9. verb prepare for eating by applying heat
    cook; ready; make; prepare.
    • Cook me dinner, please
    • can you make me an omelette?
    • fix breakfast for the guests, please
  10. verb take vengeance on or get even
    get; pay back; pay off.
    • We'll get them!
    • That'll fix him good!
    • This time I got him
  11. verb set or place definitely
    • Let's fix the date for the party!
  12. verb kill, preserve, and harden (tissue) in order to prepare for microscopic study
  13. verb make fixed, stable or stationary
    fixate.
    • let's fix the picture to the frame
  14. verb make infertile
    sterilise; desex; desexualise; sterilize; unsex; desexualize.
    • in some countries, people with genetically transmissible disabilites are sterilized
  15. verb influence an event or its outcome by illegal means
    • fix a race
  16. verb put (something somewhere) firmly
    posit; situate; deposit.
    • She posited her hand on his shoulder
    • deposit the suitcase on the bench
    • fix your eyes on this spot
  17. verb make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc
    set; prepare; set up; gear up; ready.
    • Get the children ready for school!
    • prepare for war
    • I was fixing to leave town after I paid the hotel bill

WordNet

Fix adjective
Etymology
OE., fr. L. fixus, p.p. of figere to fix; cf. F. fixe.
Definitions
  1. Fixed; solidified. Obs. Chaucer.
Fix transitive verb
Etymology
Cf. F. fixer.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Fixed ; present participle & verbal noun Fixing
Definitions
  1. To make firm, stable, or fast; to set or place permanently; to fasten immovably; to establish; to implant; to secure; to make efinite.
    An ass's nole I fixed on his head. Shak.
    O, fix thy chair of grace, that all my powers May also fix their reverence. Herbert.
    His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. Ps. cxii. 7.
    And fix far deeper in his head their stings. Milton.
  2. To hold steadily; to direct unwaveringly; to fasten, as the eye on an object, the attention on a speaker.
    Sat fixed in thought the mighty Stagirite. Pope.
    One eye on death, and one full fix'd on heaven. Young.
  3. To transfix; to pierce. Obs. Sandys.
  4. (Photog.) To render (an impression) permanent by treating with such applications a will make it insensible to the action of light. Abney.
  5. To put in prder; to arrange; to dispose of; to adjust; to set to rights; to set or place in the manner desired or most suitable; hence, to repair; as, to fix the clothes; to fix the furniture of a room. Colloq. U.S.
  6. (Iron Manuf.) To line the hearth of (a puddling furnace) with fettling. Syn. -- To arrange; prepare; adjust; place; establis; settle; determine.
Fix intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To become fixed; to settle or remain permanently; to cease from wandering; to rest.
    Your kindness banishes your fear, Resolved to fix forever here. Waller.
  2. To become firm, so as to resist volatilization; to cease to flow or be fluid; to congeal; to become hard and malleable, as a metallic substance. Bacon.
Fix noun
Definitions
  1. A position of difficulty or embarassment; predicament; dillema. Colloq.
    Is he not living, then? No. is he dead, then? No, nor dead either. Poor Aroar can not live, and can not die, -- so that he is in an almighty fix. De Quincey.
  2. (Iron Manuf.) fettling. U.S.

Webster 1913