fixer-upper

[ fik-ser-uhp-er ]

noun

, Informal.

1. a person who is handy at making repairs.
2. a rundown dwelling offered at a bargain price and suitable for improvement by a new owner, often with the object of resale at a considerable profit.

Word History and Origins

Origin of fixer-upper¹

fix up + -er ¹, pleonastically suffixed to both words

Example Sentences

The government of Colombia decided to loan the 28,000 square meter fixer-upper to a fraternity of hermetic Benedictine monks.

From The Daily Beast

Nogales owns four homes, which he bought "one fixer upper at a time" and rents to winter visitors.

From The Daily Beast

The president took aim at Mitt Romney, at one point saying that Romney would call the Hilton ballroom a “fixer-upper.”

From The Daily Beast