affix
Americanverb (used with object)
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affixes,
present (3rd person singular)
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affixed,
past participle, past
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affixing
present participle
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to fasten, join, or attach (usually followed byto ).
to affix stamps to a letter.
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to put or add on; append.
to affix a signature to a contract.
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to impress (a seal or stamp).
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to attach (blame, reproach, ridicule, etc.).
noun
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affixes
plural
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something that is joined or attached.
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Grammar. a bound inflectional or derivational element, as a prefix, infix, or suffix, added to a base or stem to form a fresh stem or a word, as -ed added to want to form wanted, or im- added to possible to form impossible.
verb
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to attach, fasten, join, or stick
to affix a poster to the wall
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to add or append
to affix a signature to a document
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to attach or attribute (guilt, blame, etc)
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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affixationnoun
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affixernoun
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affixmentnoun
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reaffixverb (used with object)
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affixableadjective
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affixaladjective
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affixialadjective
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unaffixedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
affixsimple
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affixessimple
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have affixedperfect
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has affixedperfect
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am affixingprogressive
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are affixingprogressive
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is affixingprogressive
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have been affixingperfect progressive
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has been affixingperfect progressive
Past
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affixedsimple
-
had affixedperfect
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was affixingprogressive
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were affixingprogressive
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had been affixingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of affix
1525–35; < Latin affīxus fastened to (past participle of affīgere ), equivalent to af- af- + fīg- fasten + -sus, variant of -tus past participle suffix
Explanation
When you affix something, you stick it on to something else. You might affix a stamp to a letter or affix colorful stickers to your notebook. The verb affix often refers to physically attaching something — like when you affix a label onto a folder — but it can be used more broadly to describe adding on something. You might affix your signature to a contract. If you like grammar, you might already know that the noun form of affix refers to letters or words that can be tacked onto other base words to alter their meaning. For example, the prefix un- is an affix.
Vocabulary lists containing affix
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Language and Grammar - Introductory
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Common Core Grades 7–8, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Otherwise it waits for someone to complain to its content moderation team, which could then decide to affix a label to something.
From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026
Indeed, it is not a novel at all, and it has been categorized as such only because of a curious dispensation afforded to the French to affix that label to any book they want.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025
In 2022, a bid by Chevron, Microsoft and the oil-drilling technology company Schlumberger to revive a traditional biomass plant near Fresno and affix carbon capture to it fell through after the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025
They will affix the exterior cladding, which could have been damaged by the crane cables if it had been preinstalled.
From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2025
Men and women affix spyglasses to their eyes.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
Wearing a dark gray suit and armed with a roll of tape, he affixes a poster to the side of streetlight.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2024
The group, dressed in heavy military gear, silently affixes the pole to a short column along the edge of the roof before quickly walking away.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 24, 2023
This quality, which linguists describe as “polysynthetic,” means that many affixes may attach to a verb—and with each additional affix another layer of story accrues.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 18, 2023
Bonnedahl traps black-headed gulls, samples their feces for bacteria carrying AMR genes, and affixes tracking tags to their backs to follow their migrations.
From Science Magazine ● Sep. 26, 2023
She reaches back and pulls two stickers out, puts them on plastic bracelets that she has attached to her belt, which is like a nurse utility belt, and affixes them to my right wrist.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
Upon examining the man’s papers, the British soldier “notices that the Wehrmacht stamp is smudged. Below it there appears to be a trace of a previously affixed rubber stamp.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
They had transformed themselves from the ridiculed Clip Joint to a top-shelf NBA organization, but they now have been affixed with a scarlet eight letters that will follow them forever: cheaters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
They affixed headshot cutouts of their parents from photos and placed them above paper cutouts of a wedding dress and a tuxedo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
The vehicle, with the blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag affixed to its top, then smashes through the tyre-and-barricade wall, leaping into the air and speeding on.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
I affixed the black plastic cutlass to the side of my white vendor’s smock with a safety pin.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
“Adverseness is not determined merely by affixing the labels ‘plaintiff’ and ‘defendant’ to the parties,” she explained.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
Javier, a garment worker in the area who declined to give his last name, works in a factory affixing buttons to clothing alongside about 20 other workers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2025
STAHLS’ took on heat-pressing duties in 2012, quickly affixing top pick Andrew Luck’s surname to an Indianapolis Colts jersey in New York.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 22, 2024
Both define “content moderation” broadly to encompass removing, deprioritizing, or “shadow banning” posts; “deplatforming” a user; or affixing commentary on others’ posts.
From Slate ● Feb. 26, 2024
She examined each object, sighing audibly before affixing a price tag, and scolded her husband for trying to carry things too heavy for him.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
