fixer-upper
Americannoun
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a person who is handy at making repairs.
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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.
Etymology
Origin of fixer-upper
fix up + -er 1, pleonastically suffixed to both words
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.
But to foreigners undaunted by a fixer-upper, buying an akiya is a chance to own something permanent in Japan.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026
The real estate agent—who was familiar with the Baldwin property—added that the home itself would likely be viewed by many buyers as a fixer-upper because it requires a number of updates.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 8, 2025
Other adventures in homeownership ended well — the couple doubled their money after selling a fixer-upper.
From New York Times • May 19, 2024
I took the energy I poured into that toxic fixer-upper and put it into my therapy practice, which flourished.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 6, 2023
If you like granite, you might like the house; but even if you don’t, “granite” certainly doesn’t connote a fixer-upper.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
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.
