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.
Entire villages have been relocated, although it's hard to pin down the number or what compensation residents were offered.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
Even Witkoff’s friends can’t pin down how the two became so close.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
But when it comes to predicting cliff collapses along California’s iconic shoreline, the science has been infamously tricky to pin down.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
They add that it will be difficult to pin down the normalized EPS level until the company issues 2027 guidance in January.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
She does not inhabit the house, the way the other mothers do; she’s airy and hard to pin down.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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.
