pin down
to clearly establish
TRANSLATION
pin down = festnageln, festlegen (woerterbuch.info) --- GOOGLE INDEX pin down: approximately 1,700,000 hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
The European social model, which has proved hard to PIN DOWN to a single coherent definition, has been a constantly recurring theme in EU debate over the last two years.
(Business Week magazine)
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I didn't have a financial need, and I wasn't very gifted at relationships. I probably was more like what we think of boys as being: hard to PIN DOWN.
- Actress Candice Bergen
(Business Week magazine)
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I didn't have a financial need, and I wasn't very gifted at relationships. I probably was more like what we think of boys as being: hard to PIN DOWN.
- Actress Candice Bergen
Did you
know?
pin down
phrasal verb
(pin something down)
- to discover exact details about something
(pin someone down)
- to make someone provide details about something or make a decision about something
- to stop someone from escaping by surrounding them and shooting at them if they try to escape
(Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)
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WORD ORIGIN
This verbal phrase has its roots in the verb "to pin", which has several meanings:
- to fasten or fix something (He pinned a note to the door saying he was at lunch.)
- to attribute something (Investigators pinned the blame on the pilot.)
- to place in a position of trusting dependence (He pinned his hopes on getting the contract.)
- to immobilise or hold fast (The passengers were pinned inside the wreckage of the car.)
- a wrestling term meaning to hold an opponent's shoulders on the mat to win the match.
Pin down is applied in a figurative sense to describe when something has been precisely established. (Scientists have pinned down the cause of the disease.) It’s also used in the context of forcing someone to give exact information or an opinion. (Reporters pinned the Prime Minister down on the issue of higher taxes.)
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SYNONYMS
ascribe, attribute, determine, establish, fix, nail down
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IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS TODAY
say something like:
"We were able to pin down the cause of the power cut and had the system working again within the hour."
phrasal verb
(pin something down)
- to discover exact details about something
(pin someone down)
- to make someone provide details about something or make a decision about something
- to stop someone from escaping by surrounding them and shooting at them if they try to escape
(Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary)
---
WORD ORIGIN
This verbal phrase has its roots in the verb "to pin", which has several meanings:
- to fasten or fix something (He pinned a note to the door saying he was at lunch.)
- to attribute something (Investigators pinned the blame on the pilot.)
- to place in a position of trusting dependence (He pinned his hopes on getting the contract.)
- to immobilise or hold fast (The passengers were pinned inside the wreckage of the car.)
- a wrestling term meaning to hold an opponent's shoulders on the mat to win the match.
Pin down is applied in a figurative sense to describe when something has been precisely established. (Scientists have pinned down the cause of the disease.) It’s also used in the context of forcing someone to give exact information or an opinion. (Reporters pinned the Prime Minister down on the issue of higher taxes.)
---
SYNONYMS
ascribe, attribute, determine, establish, fix, nail down
---
IMPRESS YOUR FRIENDS TODAY
say something like:
"We were able to pin down the cause of the power cut and had the system working again within the hour."
