verb / noun

fix

FIKS/fɪks/

To put something into the condition needed for use.

The man fixes the chair's broken joint with wood glue before reconnecting the leg.

A man repairs a wooden chair's broken leg joint, applying wood glue to the exposed dowel before rejoining the separated pieces.

Etymology

Fix probably draws on Latin figere, “fasten.” Its repair meaning developed through “settle or assign” and then “adjust or arrange,” shifting from securing something to putting it right.

In context

Cowboy Kent Rollins2:11

the floor in that old wagon is sort of getting some rotten spots in it but you know how a plumber never gets time to fix his own leaks

Restoring an 1800s Chuck Wagon Part 1 | Cowboy Cooking History

More examples

A new washer is a simple fix for the leak.
I fix breakfast before the children wake up.
We fixed the error before printing the invitations.

Forms

fix · fixes · fixed · fixing

fixable adjective — Able to be repaired or corrected.

Similar words

repair: Specifically restores something damaged or broken to working condition.
prepare: Makes something ready without necessarily correcting a problem.
solution: An answer to a problem, not necessarily a physical repair.