pin down

verb

pinned down; pinning down; pins down

transitive verb

1

: to cause or force (someone) to make a definite statement or decision about something

Reporters tried to pin him down on the specific changes he wants to make to the tax laws.

2

: to find out (something) with certainty

Can you pin down when the change occurred?

I'm trying to pin the source of the problem down.

Examples of pin down in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The prevalence of orthorexia nervosa remains hard to pin down, with some research estimating 6.9 percent of the general population struggles with it vs. up to 35 to 57.8 percent of high-risk groups, which include health-care professionals, athletes, artists and others with perfectionist tendencies. —The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2025

Around 6% of adults in the U.S. — or roughly 18 million — are estimated to be living with the damaging aftermath of catching the virus, according to research and a long-running survey of U.S households, although numbers are still difficult to pin down because the definitions vary. —Will Stone, NPR, 12 Mar. 2025

In storm clouds, however, those additional droplets freeze into ice crystals, making the effects of aerosol particles on storms tricky to pin down. —Chris Wright, The Conversation, 11 Mar. 2025

The researchers speculate that increases in fine particulate matter could be reducing running performance by constricting blood vessels, increasing inflammation, and impairing lung and brain function, but further research is needed to pin down the exact mechanisms at play. —Claire Maldarelli, Scientific American, 28 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1765, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pin down

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown