fix

noun

A difficult situation; a quandary or dilemma; a predicament.

A prearrangement of the outcome of a supposedly competitive process, such as a sporting event, a game, an election, a trial, or a bid.

(slang) A single dose of a narcotic drug, especially when injected.

(figurative, by extension) Something that satisfies a yearning or a craving.

(figurative, by extension) A compulsive desire or thrill.

An understanding, grasp of something.

A determination of location.

(aviation) A non-waypoint terrain feature used to make a determination of location.

(US) Fettlings (mixture used to line a furnace)

A repair or corrective action.

A surname.

Abbreviation of factor IX (clotting factor IX). [Synonym of Christmas factor.]

verb

(transitive) To attach; to affix; to hold in place or at a particular time.

(transitive) To mend, to repair.

(ditransitive, informal) To prepare (food or drink).

(transitive) 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.

(intransitive) To become fixed; to settle or remain permanently; to cease from wandering; to rest.

(transitive) To render (a photographic impression) permanent by treating with such applications as will make it insensitive to the action of light.

(transitive, figuratively, usually in the passive) To focus or determine (oneself, on a concept); to fixate.

(transitive, chess) 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.

(transitive, informal) To take revenge on, to best; to serve justice on an assumed miscreant.

(transitive, chemistry, biology) To convert into a stable or available form.

(transitive, mathematics, semantics) To map (a point or subset) to itself.

(transitive, by extension) (Of a piercing look) to direct at someone.

(transitive, US, informal) To surgically render an animal, especially a pet, infertile.

(slang, intransitive) To shoot; to inject a drug.

(intransitive) 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.

(transitive, obsolete) To pierce; now generally replaced by transfix.

Roots

figofix- · Latin · fasten

Synonyms for fix

repairn mendv fixatev rectifyv resolvev determinev makev fastenv reconditionv installv

Synonyms & related words for fix

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of fix — including repair, mend, fixate, rectify, resolve, determine. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to fix

Explore words related to fix — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include refix, restore, unfix, fixable, mendable, patchable, reparation, rectifiable. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for fix

Common synonyms for fix include repair, mend, fixate, rectify, resolve, determine, make, fasten — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does fix come from?

The word fix breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root fix-, from Latin figo (“fasten”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.