fixture

[fiks-cher]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fixture ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

something securely, and usually permanently, attached or appended, as to a house, apartment building, etc.: a light fixture; kitchen fixtures.

a person or thing long established in the same place or position.

Machinery.

any of various devices for holding work in a machine tool, especially one for machining in a straight line, as in a planer or milling machine.
any of various devices for holding parts in certain positions during welding, assembly, etc.

Law. a movable chattel, as a machine or heating plant, that, by reason of annexation to real property and adaptation to continuing use in connection with the realty, is considered a part of the realty.

Fox Hunting. one of a series of meets scheduled by a hunt to take place at a time and location listed on a card (fixture card) that is sent, usually once a month, to each member of a hunt.

the act of fixing.

British. an event that takes place regularly.

Origin of fixture

1590–1600; variant of obsolete fixure (< Late Latin fixūra; see fix, -ure), with -t- from mixture

Related formsfix·ture·less, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for fixture

device, equipment, component, accessory, appendage, appurtenance, attachment

Examples from the Web for fixture

Contemporary Examples of fixture

The energy economy has always been a fixture of Texas life, and that has not changed.
Will Texas Stay Texan?
David Fontana
December 29, 2014
Carter has also been a fixture on boards and expert panels, in think tanks and at universities.
Ashton Carter, the Wonk Who Would Lead the Pentagon
Shane Harris, Tim Mak
December 2, 2014
And in California, where carports are already common, solar canopies have become a fixture.
Paved Paradise
The Daily Beast
September 24, 2014
Since Bridesmaids, McCarthy has been a fixture at the box office, with at least one new starring vehicle every year.
The Trials of ‘Tammy’: Stop Policing Melissa McCarthy’s Body
Teo Bugbee
July 7, 2014
In 1998, he became a regular Tuesday fixture, assisting viewers in relationship issues and offering general life advice.
It’s Time to Turn Off TV Doctors
April Siese
June 23, 2014

Historical Examples of fixture

The door was no more a part and fixture of that home than she was.
Kent Knowles: Quahaug
Joseph C. Lincoln
We then get a more definite idea of the nut, which was in most cases a fixture.
The Bow, Its History, Manufacture and Use
Henry Saint-George
Dinner alone was a "fixture;" everything else was at the caprice of each.
Tony Butler
Charles James Lever
To be sure, everybody spoke to him as though he were a fixture in the land.
In Happy Valley
John Fox
She regarded herself, as did all the better-class employees, as a fixture.
The Green Rust
Edgar Wallace

British Dictionary definitions for fixture

fixture

noun

an object firmly fixed in place, esp a household appliance

a person or thing regarded as fixed in a particular place or position

property law an article attached to land and regarded as part of it

a device to secure a workpiece in a machine tool

mainly British

a sports match or social occasion
the date of such an event

rare the act of fixing

Derived Formsfixtureless, adjective

Word Origin for fixture

C17: from Late Latin fixūra a fastening (with -t- by analogy with mixture)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for fixture

1590s, "act of fixing," perhaps from fix (v.) on model of mixture. Meaning "anything fixed or securely fastened" is from 1812.