Fixed

How to spell fixed

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce fixed

What does fixed mean?

1. verbPast tense of fix: repaired, fastened, or made secure.
2. adjectiveSettled and not able to be changed; staying the same.

Fixed in a sentence

• verb

  The mechanic fixed the brakes before lunch.

• adjective

  The loan came with a fixed interest rate for five years.

• verb

  She fixed the shelf to the wall with two long screws.

• adjective

  The meeting time is now fixed and cannot be moved.

Where does fixed come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb figere, meaning 'to fasten' or 'to drive in', whose past participle was fixus, 'fastened' or 'set firm'. From that participle English took the verb 'fix' in the late medieval period, originally with the sense of making something firm or stable, and 'fixed' is simply its past form. The same Latin root survives in relatives such as 'fixture', 'suffix' and 'crucify' (literally 'to fasten to a cross'). Over time 'fixed' broadened from purely physical fastening to abstract uses, such as a fixed price, a fixed opinion or a fixed gaze. A useful spelling note is that although the ending is pronounced like a 't' sound, it is still written with the regular '-ed', so the word is 'fixed' rather than the tempting 'fixt'.

How the word is built

• fix (from Latin fixus: fastened, set firm)
• -ed (past tense / past participle / adjective suffix)