(~es, ~ing, ~ed)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
If something is ~ed somewhere, it is attached there firmly or securely.
It is ~ed on the wall...
He ~ed a bayonet to the end of his rifle.
= fasten
VERB: be V-ed prep/adv, V n prep/adv
2.
If you ~ something, for example a date, price, or policy, you decide and say exactly what it will be.
He’s going to ~ a time when I can see him...
The prices of milk and cereals, are ~ed annually.
= set
VERB: V n, V n
3.
If you ~ something for someone, you arrange for it to happen or you organize it for them.
I’ve ~ed it for you to see Bonnie Lachlan...
It’s ~ed. He’s going to meet us at the airport...
They thought that their relatives would be able to ~ the visas...
He vanished after you ~ed him with a job...
We ~ed for the team to visit our headquarters...
They’d ~ed yesterday that Mike’d be in late today.
VERB: V it for n to-inf, be V-ed, V n, V n with n, V for n to-inf, V that
4.
If you ~ something which is damaged or which does not work properly, you repair it.
He cannot ~ the electricity...
If something is broken, we get it ~ed.
= mend
VERB: V n, get/have n V-ed
5.
If you ~ a problem or a bad situation, you deal with it and make it satisfactory.
It’s not too late to ~ the problem, although time is clearly getting short...
Fixing a 40-year-old wrong does not mean, however, that history can be undone.
VERB: V n, V-ing
6.
You can refer to a solution to a problem as a ~. (INFORMAL)
Many of those changes could just be a temporary ~.
N-COUNT: usu adj N
see also quick ~
7.
If you ~ your eyes on someone or something or if your eyes ~ on them, you look at them with complete attention.
She ~es her steel-blue eyes on an unsuspecting local official...
Her soft brown eyes ~ed on Kelly...
The child kept her eyes ~ed on the wall behind him.
VERB: V n on n, V on n, V-ed
8.
If someone or something is ~ed in your mind, you remember them well, for example because they are very important, interesting, or unusual.
Leonard was now ~ed in his mind...
Amy watched the child’s intent face eagerly, trying to ~ it in her mind.
VERB: be V-ed in n, V n in n
9.
If someone ~es a gun, camera, or radar on something, they point it at that thing.
The US crew ~ed its radar on the Turkish ship...
VERB: V n on n
10.
If you get a ~ on someone or something, you have a clear idea or understanding of them. (INFORMAL)
It’s been hard to get a steady ~ on what’s going on.
N-SING: a N on n
11.
If you ~ some food or a drink for someone, you make it or prepare it for them.
Sarah ~ed some food for us...
Let me ~ you a drink...
Scotty stayed behind to ~ lunch.
VERB: V n for n, V n n, V n
12.
If you ~ your hair, clothes, or make-up, you arrange or adjust them so you look neat and tidy, showing you have taken care with your appearance. (INFORMAL)
‘I’ve got to ~ my hair,’ I said and retreated to my bedroom...
VERB: no passive, V n
13.
If someone ~es a race, election, contest, or other event, they make unfair or illegal arrangements or use deception to affect the result.
They offered opposing players bribes to ~ a decisive league match against Valenciennes...
...this week’s report of match-~ing.
= rig
VERB: V n, V-ing disapproval
•
Fix is also a noun.
It’s all a ~, a deal they’ve made.
N-COUNT
14.
If you accuse someone of ~ing prices, you accuse them of making unfair arrangements to charge a particular price for something, rather than allowing market forces to decide it. (BUSINESS)
...a suspected cartel that had ~ed the price of steel for the construction market...
The company is currently in dispute with the government over price ~ing.
VERB: V n, V-ing disapproval
15.
An injection of an addictive drug such as heroin can be referred to as a ~. (INFORMAL)
N-COUNT
16.
You can use ~ to refer to an amount of something which a person gets or wants and which helps them physically or psychologically to survive. (INFORMAL)
The trouble with her is she needs her daily ~ of publicity.
...a quick energy ~.
N-COUNT: with supp, oft N of n, n N
17.
If you say that you are ~ing to do something, you mean that you are planning or intending to do it. (AM INFORMAL)
I’m ~ing to go to graduate school...
VERB: only cont, V to-inf
18.
see also ~ed , ~ings