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Synonyms

get a fix on

Idioms  

  1. Also, have a fix on;;. Obtain (or have) a clear determination or understanding of something. For example, I was finally able to get a fix on the specifics of this problem, or No one in the press room had a handle on Balkan history, or Do you have a grasp of the situation? Similarly, give a fix means “provide a clear understanding,” as in This briefing will give us a fix on the current situation. The usages with fix and handle are colloquialisms dating from the 1920s; those with grasp are more formal and date from the late 1600s.

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.

“The more he tried to get a fix on the fact of being Cass here,” Goldstein writes, “the more the whole idea of it just got away from him.”

From Scientific American • Aug. 17, 2019

It’s not easy to get a fix on Warren Buffett’s feelings about the newspaper industry.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2019

But I couldn’t get a fix on his presence — mainly because there was no presence.

From Washington Post • Feb. 27, 2019

Cuban officials weren’t so sure about the storm’s location, and decided to get a fix on it.

From National Geographic • Sep. 8, 2017

The one it was hard to get a fix on was June.

From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd

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.