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fix up

 [fiks-uhp]   Origin

fix-up

   [fiks-uhp]
noun
repair; improvement: fix-ups that will make the house more salable.
Origin:
1825–35, Americanism; noun use of verb phrase fix up

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Fix up is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

fix

   [fiks] verb, fixed or fixt, fix·ing, noun
verb (used with object)
1.
to repair; mend.
2.
to put in order or in good condition; adjust or arrrange: She fixed her hair in a bun.
3.
to make fast, firm, or stable.
4.
to place definitely and more or less permanently: to fix a circus poster to a wall.
5.
to settle definitely; determine: to fix a price.
EXPAND
6.
to direct (the eyes, the attention, etc.) steadily: His eyes were fixed on the distant ship.
7.
to attract and hold (the eye, the attention, etc.).
8.
to make set or rigid.
9.
to put into permanent form.
10.
to put or place (responsibility, blame, etc.) on a person.
11.
to assign or refer to a definite place, time, etc.
12.
to provide or supply with (something needed or wanted): How are you fixed for money?
13.
Informal. to arrange or influence the outcome or action of, especially privately or dishonestly: to fix a jury; to fix a game.
14.
to get (a meal); prepare (food): What time shall I fix supper?
15.
Informal. to put in a condition or position to make no further trouble.
16.
Informal. to get even with; get revenge upon: I'll fix him!
17.
Informal. to castrate or spay (an animal, especially a pet).
18.
Chemistry.
a.
to make stable in consistency or condition; reduce from fluidity or volatility to a more stable state.
b.
to convert atmospheric nitrogen into a useful compound, as a nitrate fertilizer.
19.
Photography. to render (an image) permanent by removing light-sensitive silver halides.
20.
Microscopy. to kill, make rigid, and preserve for microscopic study.
COLLAPSE
verb (used without object)
21.
to become fixed.
22.
to become set; assume a rigid or solid form.
23.
to become stable or permanent.
24.
to settle down.
25.
Slang. to inject oneself with a narcotic.
EXPAND
26.
Chiefly Southern U.S. to prepare; plan (usually followed by an infinitive): I was just fixing to call you. We're fixing to go to Colorado this summer.
COLLAPSE
noun
27.
Informal. a position from which it is difficult to escape; predicament.
28.
Informal. a repair, adjustment, or solution, usually of an immediate nature: Can you think of a fix for the problem?
29.
Navigation.
a.
a charted position of a vessel or aircraft, determined by two or more bearings taken on landmarks, heavenly bod-ies, etc.
b.
the determining of the position of a ship, plane, etc., by mathematical, electronic, or other means: The navigator took a fix on the sun and steered the ship due north.
30.
a clear determination: Can you get a fix on what he really means?
31.
Slang.
a.
an injection of heroin or other narcotic.
b.
the narcotic or amount of narcotic injected.
c.
a compulsively sought dose or infusion of something: to need one's daily fix of soap operas on TV.
EXPAND
32.
Slang.
a.
an underhand or illegal arrangement, especially one secured through bribery or influence.
b.
a contest, situation, etc., whose outcome is prearranged dishonestly.
COLLAPSE
Verb phrases
33.
fix on/upon, to decide on; determine: We won't be able to fix on a location for the banquet until we know the number of guests.
34.
fix up, Informal.
a.
to arrange for: to fix up a date.
b.
to provide with; furnish.
c.
to repair; renew.
d.
to smooth over; solve: They weren't able to fix up their differences.
Idioms
35.
fix one's wagon, Informal. to exact retribution for an offense; treat someone vengefully: I'll dock his pay and that will fix his wagon.
36.
in a fix, Older Slang. pregnant.
Origin:
1350–1400; 1900–05 for def. 29; 1935–40 for def. 31; Middle English fixen (v.) < Medieval Latin fixāre, derivative of Latin fixus fixed, past participle of fīgere to fasten

Related forms
fix·a·ble, adjective
fix·a·bil·i·ty, noun
o·ver·fix, verb
re·fix, verb (used with object), -fixed, -fix·ing.
un·fix·a·ble, adjective

Synonyms
1. correct, amend. 3, 4. fasten, secure, stabilize. Fix, establish imply making firm or permanent. To fix is to fasten in position securely or to make more or less permanent against change, especially something already existing: to fix a bayonet on a gun; fix a principle in one's mind. To establish is to make firm or permanent something (usually newly) originated, created, or ordained: to establish a business, a claim to property. 5. establish, define. 27. dilemma, plight, quandary.

Usage note
Fix meaning “to repair” appears to have been used first in America, but it is long established and has been used in England since the early 19th century: The engineer quickly fixed the faulty valve. The verb use is fully standard in all varieties of speech and writing, and objections to it on the grounds of style merely reflect personal prejudice, not the practice of educated speakers and writers. The noun fix meaning “repair, adjustment” is informal.EXPAND
Fix (to) meaning “to prepare, plan (to)” is another Americanism: We're fixing to go to town. It once occurred in all the eastern coastal states, but it is now chiefly an informal spoken form in the South Midland and South.

COLLAPSE
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To fix up
Collins
World English Dictionary
fix up
 
—vb
1.  to arrange: let's fix up a date
2.  (often foll by with) to provide: I'm sure we can fix you up with a room
3.  informal to repair or rearrange: to fix up one's house

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

fix
late 14c., probably from O.Fr. *fixer, from fixe "fixed," from L. fixus, pp. of figere "to fix, fasten," from PIE base *dhigw- "to stick, to fix." Earliest Eng. usage was to "fix" one's eyes or mind on something; sense of "fasten, attach" is c.1400; that of "settle, assign" is pre-1500 and evolved into
EXPAND
"adjust, arrange" (1660s), then "repair" (1737). Sense of "tamper with" (a fight, a jury, etc.) is 1790. As euphemism for "castrate a pet" it dates from 1930. Related: Fixed; fixedly; fixing. The noun meaning "a position from which it is difficult to move" is first recorded 1816, Amer.Eng., from the verb. Meaning "dose of narcotic" is from 1934, originally fix-up, which dates from 1867 in reference to liquor.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
fix   (fĭks)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. To convert inorganic carbon or nitrogen into stable, organic compounds that can be assimilated into organisms. Photosynthetic organisms such as green plants fix carbon in carbohydrates as food; certain bacteria fix nitrogen as ammonia that can be absorbed directly or through nitrification by plant roots. See more at carbon fixation, nitrogen fixation.

  2. To convert a substance, especially a gas, into solid or liquid form by chemical reactions.

  3. To kill and preserve a tissue specimen rapidly to retain as nearly as possible the characteristics it had in the living body.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

fix definition


  1. n.
    and fix-up. a dose of a drug, especially for an addict who is in need of drugs. (Drugs. It fixes the suffering of withdrawal.) : It was clear that the prisoner needed a fix, but there was nothing the cops would do for him.
  2. in.
    to buy a dose of drugs; to take drugs. (See also fixed. Drugs.) : Frank had to fix before he could even talk to me.
  3. tv.
    to castrate or spay an animal, especially a pet. (See also fixed. Jocularly of people.) : Sally suggested that someone ought to fix Beavis—if he isn't already.
  4. n.
    a bribe. (See also fixed.) : Rocko never took a fix in his life.
  5. tv.
    to influence the outcome of a contest or an election. (See also fixed.) : Sam knows what it takes to fix an election—cash.
  6. n.
    a scheme to influence the outcome of a contest or an election. : Something is wrong with this game. I smell a fix.
  7. n.
    a repair made to a computer program. (Computers.) : This little fix should make the whole program run faster.
  8. n.
    a cure for a social ill. (See also quick fix.) : There is no easy fix for a problem like this.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

fix up

  1. Repair, refurbish, or renew. For example, They're busy fixing up their house, or We fixed ourselves up before we ventured outside. [Late 1700s]

  2. fix someone up. Provide or furnish someone with something, as in He can fix you up with a new car, or Can you fix up my friend with a date for the dance? [Colloquial; c. 1930]

  3. Smooth over or settle, as in You'd think they could fix up these small differences. [Late 1800s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
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