fix·ing

[fik-sing]
noun
1.
the act of a person or thing that fixes.
2.
fixings, Also, fix·in's [fik-sinz] . Informal.
a.
the necessary ingredients: salad fixings.
b.
the appropriate accompaniments; trimmings: turkey with all the fixings.
3.
gold fixing.
Origin:
1425–75; late Middle English; see fix, -ing1

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Verb phrases
33.
fix onupon, 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), re·fixed, re·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. 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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To fixing
00:10
Fixing is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Collins
World English Dictionary
fix (fɪks) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—vb
1.  (also intr) to make or become firm, stable, or secure
2.  to attach or place permanently: fix the mirror to the wall
3.  (often foll by up) to settle definitely; decide: let us fix a date
4.  to hold or direct (eyes, attention, etc) steadily: he fixed his gaze on the woman
5.  to call to attention or rivet
6.  to make rigid: to fix one's jaw
7.  to place or ascribe: to fix the blame on someone
8.  to mend or repair
9.  informal to provide with: how are you fixed for supplies?
10.  informal to influence (a person, outcome of a contest, etc) unfairly, as by bribery
11.  slang to take revenge on; get even with, esp by killing
12.  informal to give (someone) his just deserts: that'll fix him
13.  informal to arrange or put in order: to fix one's hair
14.  informal to prepare: to fix a meal
15.  dialect, informal or to spay or castrate (an animal)
16.  dialect, informal or (US) to prepare oneself: I'm fixing to go out
17.  photog to treat (a film, plate, or paper) with fixer to make permanent the image rendered visible by developer
18.  cytology to kill, preserve, and harden (tissue, cells, etc) for subsequent microscopic study
19.  a.  to convert (atmospheric nitrogen) into nitrogen compounds, as in the manufacture of fertilizers or the action of bacteria in the soil
 b.  to convert (carbon dioxide) into organic compounds, esp carbohydrates, as occurs in photosynthesis in plants and some microorganisms
20.  to reduce (a substance) to a solid or condensed state or a less volatile state
21.  slang (intr) to inject a drug
 
—n
22.  informal a predicament; dilemma
23.  the ascertaining of the navigational position, as of a ship, by radar, observation, etc
24.  slang an intravenous injection of a drug, esp heroin
25.  informal an act or instance of bribery
 
[C15: from Medieval Latin fixāre, from Latin fixus fixed, from Latin fīgere]
 
'fixable
 
—adj

fixing (ˈfɪksɪŋ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
a means of attaching one thing to another, as a pipe to a wall, slate to a roof, etc

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
"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.
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
Abbreviations & Acronyms
FIX
Federal Internet Exchange
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
If plants were more efficient at fixing nitrogen, the problem could be
  alleviated.
Fixing them requires increasingly sophisticated technical skills.
So remember, health care reform is essential to fixing our long-term budget
  woes.
When fixing on the nose or nostrils or the mouth, the effect is much dampened
  and all look pretty ordinary.
Partners:WordBloglinesCitysearchThe Daily BeastAsk AnswersAsk KidsLife123SendoriHome Advisor
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
About PRIVACY POLICY Terms API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Suggest a Word Help
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT