fix-up
noun
repair; improvement.
fix-up
American
[fiks-uhp]
/ ˈfɪksˌʌp /
noun
fix up
British
verb
-
to arrange
let's fix up a date
-
(often foll by with) to provide
I'm sure we can fix you up with a room
-
informal to repair or rearrange
to fix up one's house
fix up
Idioms
-
Repair, refurbish, or renew. For example, They're busy fixing up their house , or We fixed ourselves up before we ventured outside . [Late 1700s]
-
fix someone up . Provide or furnish someone with something, as in He can fix you up with a new car , or Can you fix up my friend with a date for the dance? [ Colloquial ; c. 1930]
-
Smooth over or settle, as in You'd think they could fix up these small differences . [Late 1800s]
Etymology
Origin of fix-up
1825–35, noun use of verb phrase fix up
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:
Hall was known as a fix-up man when he was hired three years ago from a prominent Michigan church and private school attended by former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and other members of Romney’s family.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 18, 2015
So I decided to do a résumé fix-up story, using myself as a guinea pig.
From Forbes ● Sep. 15, 2014
Smith also likes to compare his role to that of a schoolboy trying to fix-up a friend with a long-shot date.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 13, 2014
The result was a $150,000 fix-up and a new appreciation for compromise, Christine Haughney reports in the Appraisal column.
From New York Times ● Feb. 15, 2011
That argument was killed by two World Series titles, a $250 million fix-up of the team's landmark Fenway Park, and salary spending second only to the New York Yankees.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2010
Should I try to get a loan to fix up the inherited house and move there so I won’t have to pay rent?
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 12, 2026
Architect Capital is a San Francisco-based asset manager that looks to fix up businesses, especially where it sees opportunities to build a better financial infrastructure, according to its website.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
Duran, the Colorado architect trying to fix up the old hospital, is among those who have run into unexpected hurdles on the road to redevelopment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 2, 2026
The Department for Transport said it was supporting local authorities to fix "up to one million more potholes a year", but did not say how much money would be allocated.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2024
“We’ll fix up that little old place an’ we’ll go live there.”
From "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck
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.
