on the fritz
IdiomsExample 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 when Pína and Hawk arrive, their presence throws a wrench in a union that’s already on the fritz.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
But collectively, they show a country and a world order that are on the fritz.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
Don’t miss, for instance, a food replicator on the fritz, where holographic tea will consistently fail to properly materialize.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2025
Buy a refill and hope the printer’s not on the fritz.
From Slate ● Jun. 4, 2024
And if his regulator was perhaps on the fritz and not delivering oxygen to his mask, that would also explain Andy’s apparent lack of lucidity.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
