■ verb
1》 attach or position securely.
↘( ~ on ) direct or be directed unwaveringly toward: her gaze ~ed 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.
↘( ~ someone up ) informal provide someone with something.
↘ informal, chiefly N. Amer. provide with food or drink.
↘( be ~ing 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 ~ing.
2》 informal a difficult or awkward situation.
3》 informal a solution to a problem, especially one that is hastily devised: there's no quick ~ 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 ~ on determine the position of.
↘ informal determine the nature or facts of.
Derivatives
~able adjective
~ed adjective
~edly adverb
~edness noun
~er noun
Origin
ME: partly from OFr. ~ '~ed', partly from med. L. ~are 'to ~', both from L. ~us , past participle of figere '~, fasten'.