pin down
Britishverb
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to force (someone) to make a decision or carry out a promise
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to define clearly
he had a vague suspicion that he couldn't quite pin down
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to confine to a place
the fallen tree pinned him down
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Fix or establish clearly, as in The firefighters finally were able to pin down the source of the odor . [Mid-1900s]
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Force someone to give precise information or opinions, as in The reporter pinned down the governor on the issue of conservation measures . [c. 1700]
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.
To pin down these elusive signatures, the researchers relied on advanced polarized neutron scattering.
From Science Daily
The team is now studying the complete data set in detail to chart how temperature varies around the entire planet and to better pin down the makeup of its atmosphere.
From Science Daily
These factors make long-term energy needs hard to pin down.
From Los Angeles Times
She teamed up with producer Ricky Gourmet to pin down the perfect level of bubblegum pop and determine when a song was in need of a good saxophone solo.
From Los Angeles Times
"While puberty offers a clear start, the end of adolescence is much harder to pin down scientifically. Based purely on neural architecture, we found that adolescent-like changes in brain structure end around the early thirties."
From Science Daily
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.
