FIXING

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does fixing mean? 

• FIXING (noun)
  The noun FIXING has 4 senses:

1. the act of putting something in working order again

2. restraint that attaches to something or holds something in place

3. the sterilization of an animal

4. (histology) the preservation and hardening of a tissue sample to retain as nearly as possible the same relations they had in the living body

  Familiarity information: FIXING used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FIXING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of putting something in working order again

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

fix; fixing; fixture; mend; mending; repair; reparation

Hypernyms ("fixing" is a kind of...):

improvement (the act of improving something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fixing"):

patching (the act of mending a hole in a garment by sewing a patch over it)

care; maintenance; upkeep (activity involved in maintaining something in good working order)

band aid; quick fix; quickie; quicky (hurried repair)

restoration (the act of restoring something or someone to a satisfactory state)

reconstruction (the activity of constructing something again)

restitution (the act of restoring something to its original state)

darning (the act of mending a hole in a garment with crossing threads)

Derivation:

fix (restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Restraint that attaches to something or holds something in place

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

fastener; fastening; fixing; holdfast

Hypernyms ("fixing" is a kind of...):

constraint; restraint (a device that retards something's motion)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fixing"):

knot (any of various fastenings formed by looping and tying a rope (or cord) upon itself or to another rope or to another object)

toggle bolt (a fastener consisting of a threaded bolt and a hinged spring-loaded toggle; used to fasten objects to hollow walls)

lashing (rope that is used for fastening something to something else)

link; linkup; tie; tie-in (a fastener that serves to join or connect)

lock (a fastener fitted to a door or drawer to keep it firmly closed)

locker (a fastener that locks or closes)

nail (a thin pointed piece of metal that is hammered into materials as a fastener)

nut and bolt (a fastener made by screwing a nut onto a threaded bolt)

paper fastener (a fastener for holding a sheet of paper in place)

pin (a small slender (often pointed) piece of wood or metal used to support or fasten or attach things)

screw (a fastener with a tapered threaded shank and a slotted head)

seal (fastener that provides a tight and perfect closure)

seal; sealing wax (fastener consisting of a resinous composition that is plastic when warm; used for sealing documents and parcels and letters)

slide fastener; zip; zip fastener; zipper (a fastener for locking together two toothed edges by means of a sliding tab)

press stud; snap; snap fastener (a fastener used on clothing; fastens with a snapping sound)

toggle (a fastener consisting of a peg or pin or crosspiece that is inserted into an eye at the end of a rope or a chain or a cable in order to fasten it to something (as another rope or chain or cable))

hook and eye (a kind of fastener used on clothing)

fillet; stopping (fastener consisting of a narrow strip of welded metal used to join steel members)

dowel; dowel pin; joggle (a fastener that is inserted into holes in two adjacent pieces and holds them together)

cringle; eyelet; grommet; grummet; loop (fastener consisting of a metal ring for lining a small hole to permit the attachment of cords or lines)

cottar; cotter (fastener consisting of a wedge or pin inserted through a slot to hold two other pieces together)

corrugated fastener; wiggle nail (a small strip of corrugated steel with sharp points on one side; hammered across wood joints in rough carpentry)

clothes peg; clothes pin; clothespin (wood or plastic fastener; for holding clothes on a clothesline)

clip (any of various small fasteners used to hold loose articles together)

clinch (the flattened part of a nail or bolt or rivet)

cleat (a fastener (usually with two projecting horns) around which a rope can be secured)

clasp (a fastener (as a buckle or hook) that is used to hold two things together)

catch (a fastener that fastens or locks a door or window)

carabiner; karabiner; snap ring (an oblong metal ring with a spring clip; used in mountaineering to attach a rope to a piton or to connect two ropes)

button (a round fastener sewn to shirts and coats etc to fit through buttonholes)

buckle (fastener that fastens together two ends of a belt or strap; often has loose prong)

bellyband (a strap around the belly of a draft animal holding the shafts of a wagon)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The sterilization of an animal

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

altering; fixing; neutering

Context example:

they took him to the vet for neutering

Hypernyms ("fixing" is a kind of...):

sterilisation; sterilization (the act of making an organism barren or infertile (unable to reproduce))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fixing"):

spaying (neutering a female by removing the ovaries)

castration; emasculation (neutering a male animal by removing the testicles)

Derivation:

fix (make infertile)

Sense 4

Meaning:

(histology) the preservation and hardening of a tissue sample to retain as nearly as possible the same relations they had in the living body

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

fixation; fixing

Hypernyms ("fixing" is a kind of...):

preservation (a process that saves organic substances from decay)

Domain category:

histology (the branch of biology that studies the microscopic structure of animal or plant tissues)

Holonyms ("fixing" is a part of...):

plastination (a process involving fixation and dehydration and forced impregnation and hardening of biological tissues; water and lipids are replaced by curable polymers (silicone or epoxy or polyester) that are subsequently hardened)

Derivation:

fix (kill, preserve, and harden (tissue) in order to prepare for microscopic study)

 Context examples 

One's eyes must be somewhere, and you know what a foolish trick I have of fixing mine, when my thoughts are an hundred miles off.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

Have you been musing about moving or fixing up your present home?

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

You will wonder, said she, what has been fixing my eye so long; but I was looking after some window-curtains, which Lady Alicia and Mrs Frankland were telling me of last night.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

“He's a young man, sure?” said the portentous waiter, fixing his eyes severely on me.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

And then, Fanny, the glory of fixing one who has been shot at by so many; of having it in one's power to pay off the debts of one's sex!

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

An enlargement or swelling on the roots of legumes and certain other plants inhabited by symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

(Nodule, Food and Drug Administration)

"No," replied Lucy, "not to Mr. ROBERT Ferrars—I never saw him in my life; but," fixing her eyes upon Elinor, "to his eldest brother."

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

“Ah!” said Mr. Woodhouse, shaking his head and fixing his eyes on her with tender concern.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

As I was occupied in fixing the boat and arranging the sails, several people crowded towards the spot.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

"We're just fixing what has been damaged over the last half-century to push them back to where they were, taste-wise. We can make the supermarket tomato taste noticeably better."

(Scientists develop genetic path to tastier tomatoes, NSF)