¦ verb
1. attach or position securely.
(fix on) direct or be directed unwaveringly toward: her gaze fixed on Jess.
2. decide or settle on.
establish the exact location of (something) by using radar, visual bearings, or astronomical observation.
assign or determine (a person's liability or responsibility) for legal purposes.
3. repair or restore.
4. make arrangements for.
(fix someone up) informal provide someone with something.
informal, chiefly N. Amer. provide with food or drink.
(be fixing to do something) N. Amer. informal be intending to do something.
5. make unchanging or constant.
make (a dye, photographic image, or drawing) permanent.
Biology preserve or stabilize (a specimen) with a chemical substance.
(of a plant or microorganism) assimilate (nitrogen or carbon dioxide) by forming a non-gaseous compound.
6. informal deviously influence the outcome of.
7. informal take an injection of a narcotic drug.
8. N. Amer. castrate or spay (an animal).
¦ noun
1. an act of fixing.
2. informal a difficult or awkward situation.
3. informal a solution to a problem, especially one that is hastily devised: there's no quick fix to the recession.
4. informal a dose of a narcotic drug to which one is addicted.
5. a position determined by visual or radio bearings or astronomical observations.
Phrases
get a fix on determine the position of.
?informal determine the nature or facts of.
Derivatives
fixable adjective
fixed adjective
fixedly adverb
fixedness noun
fixer noun
Origin
ME: partly from OFr. fix 'fixed', partly from med. L. fixare 'to fix', both from L. fixus, past participle of figere 'fix, fasten'.