fix-up
Americannoun
verb
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to arrange
let's fix up a date
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(often foll by with) to provide
I'm sure we can fix you up with a room
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informal to repair or rearrange
to fix up one's house
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Repair, refurbish, or renew. For example, They're busy fixing up their house , or We fixed ourselves up before we ventured outside . [Late 1700s]
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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]
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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:
She seeks out John, first as a kindred spirit, then as a fix-up project.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 25, 2021
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
He says it costs too much money to fix up his place.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 6, 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
Plans to fix up the bridge are projected to cost more than $700 million and will require the bridge to be closed to the public for 16 months.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2025
In 2018, he and Kathryn, who once worked as his assistant, decided to fix up the place and live there themselves.
From New York Times ● Feb. 29, 2024
“We’ll fix up that little old place an’ we’ll go live there.”
From "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck
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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.