pin down


verb(tr, adverb)
  1. to force (someone) to make a decision or carry out a promise

  2. to define clearly: he had a vague suspicion that he couldn't quite pin down

  1. to confine to a place: the fallen tree pinned him down

Words Nearby pin down

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use pin down in a sentence

  • By running the pin down into the sand all the way, you can make it look just like a goldpiece lying on the floor of the cave.

    Us and the Bottleman | Edith Ballinger Price
  • Shake gently and pin down smoothly on a sheet, being careful to stretch and pin each scallop in place.

    Make Your Own Hats | Gene Allen Martin
  • Instead, he feinted with his club until he managed to pin down the venomous head.

    Into the Primitive | Robert Ames Bennet
  • Even that sweet green maiden-hair fern might pin down your foot so firmly that it would take a fish's sharp tooth to set you free.

    Lord Dolphin | Harriet A. Cheever
  • Cephas brought the rolling-pin down upon the paste again with fierce impetus.

    Pembroke | Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

Other Idioms and Phrases with pin down

pin down

Fix or establish clearly, as in The firefighters finally were able to pin down the source of the odor. [Mid-1900s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.