Etymology From Middle English fixen, borrowed from Old French *fixer (attested only as ficher, fichier; > English fitch), from fix (“fastened; fixed”), from Latin fīxus (“immovable; steady; stable; fixed”), from fīgō (“to drive in; stick; fasten”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- (“to jab; stick; set”). Related to dig.
Obsolete To pierce; now generally replaced by transfix.
2
Broadly, Obsolete (Of a piercing look) to direct at someone.
He fixed me with a sickly grin, and said, "I told you it wouldn't work!"
She sniffed, too, comprehendingly, and fixed her son with a relentless eye.1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, →OCLC, page 111:
3
To attach; to affix; to hold in place or at a particular time.
A dab of chewing gum will fix your note to the bulletin board.
A leech can fix itself to your skin without you feeling it.
2 more examples
The Constitution fixes the date when Congress must meet.
We've come a long, long way boys! Now it's time for America to show its teeth. Fix bayonets!2016, DICE, Battlefield 1 (Historical Fiction), Stockholm: Electronic Arts, PC, Xbox One, Playstation 4, scene: American Ballroom Blitz Pre-Battle Speech (Operations), set in 1918 during World War I:
4
Figuratively, Passive, Usually To focus or determine (oneself, on a concept); to fixate.
She's fixed on the idea of becoming a doctor.
5
Board games, Chess, Games To prevent enemy pawns from advancing by directly opposing the most advanced one with one of one's own pawns so as to threaten to capture any advancing backward pawns.
6
To mend, to repair.
That heater will start a fire if you don't fix it.
You can't fix stupid.
1 more example
Fix this for me.
7
Excessive, With would To be immensely pleasurable to.
She fixed Peter a slice of black bread and jam by cutting the hard crust petalwise around the edge, so the child could tear off convenient pieces.1945, Marianne Steiff Finton Meisel, Years Before the Flood, page 14:
1 more example
I fixed us drinks—orange juice with some vodka I'd gotten on sale—and washed a few dishes to get my mind off Jess and the fact of his not texting back.2013, Iris Smyles, Iris Has Free Time, Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint, →ISBN, page 94:
9
To make (a contest, vote, or gamble) unfair; to privilege one contestant or a particular group of contestants, usually before the contest begins; to arrange immunity for defendants by tampering with the justice system via bribery or extortion.
A majority of voters believed the election was fixed in favor of the incumbent.
10
US, Informal To surgically render an animal, especially a pet, infertile.
Rover stopped digging under the fence after we had the vet fix him.
The function f#58;#92;mathbb#123;R#125;#92;to#92;mathbb#123;R#125;#59;f(x)#58;#61;4x-3 fixes the point 1#92;in#92;mathbb#123;R#125;, since f(1)#61;4(1)-3#61;1.
12
Informal To take revenge on, to best; to serve justice on an assumed miscreant.
He got caught breaking into lockers, so a couple of guys fixed him after work.
13
To render (a photographic impression) permanent by treating with such applications as will make it insensitive to the action of light.
14
Biology, Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciences To convert into a stable or available form.
Legumes are valued in crop rotation for their ability to fix nitrogen.
it is well to fix with sodium hyposulphite , and to wash as usual1878, William de Wiveleslie Abney, A treatise on photography:
15
To become fixed; to settle or remain permanently; to cease from wandering; to rest.
Accuſing ſome malignant Star, Not Britain, for that fateful War, Your kindneſs baniſhes your fear, Reſolv’d to fix for ever here.1665, Edmund Waller, Upon Her Maiesties New Buildings at Somerset-House:
A cheerless place! the solitary Bee, Whose buzzing was the only sound of life, Flew there on restless wing, Seeking in vain one blossom, where to fix.1801, Robert Southey, “(please specify the page)”, in Thalaba the Destroyer, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] [F]or T[homas] N[orton] Longman and O[wen] Rees, […], by Biggs and Cottle, […], →OCLC:
16
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.
quicksilver will fix, so asto endure the hammer1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:
She doesn't have to worry about stool pigeons because every law in the Federal District knows that Lupita sells junk. She keeps outfits in glasses of alcohol so the junkies can fix in the joint and walk out clean.1953, William Lee [pseudonym; William S. Burroughs], Junkie, New York: Ace Books:
18
To arrange (an event etc.).
Could you fix it for me to meet the band backstage?
Etymology From Middle English fixen, borrowed from Old French *fixer (attested only as ficher, fichier; > English fitch), from fix (“fastened; fixed”), from Latin fīxus (“immovable; steady; stable; fixed”), from fīgō (“to drive in; stick; fasten”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeygʷ- (“to jab; stick; set”). Related to dig.
That plumber's fix is much better than the first one's.
Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […]. Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. […] But the scandals kept coming, […]. A broad section of the political class now recognises the need for change but remains unable to see the necessity of a fundamental overhaul. Instead it offers fixes and patches.2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21:
2
A difficult situation; a quandary or dilemma; a predicament.
It rained before we repaired the roof, and were we in a fix!
"How come you're in this fix?"1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 13:
3
Slang A single dose of a narcotic drug, especially when injected.
And Cash told me of cases where two hips take a fix together and then one pulls out his badge.1953, William Lee [pseudonym; William S. Burroughs], Junkie, New York: Ace Books:
Maybe I will find in yage what I was looking for in junk and weed and coke. Yage may be the final fix.1953, William Lee [pseudonym; William S. Burroughs], Junkie, New York: Ace Books:
1 more example
Just one fix!1992, William Alain Jourgensen, “Just One Fix”, in Psalm 69, performed by Ministry:
4
Broadly, Figuratively, Slang Something that satisfies a yearning or a craving.
A prearrangement of the outcome of a supposedly competitive process, such as a sporting event, a game, an election, a trial, or a bid.
As the professional thief notes: You can tell by the way the case is handled in court when the fix is in.1963, Howard Saul Becker, Outsiders: studies in the sociology of deviance, page 160:
7
An understanding, grasp of something.
Each character comes to us with her own particular fix on reality, shaped by a lifetime of experience and by the urgencies of the moment.1981 December 1, Susan Saxe, “Survival with Agony and Art”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 20, page 9: