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

In a series where player props have been hard to pin down, one player (besides MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) who appears to be a safe bet is Thunder center Chet Holmgren. —Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 June 2025

Taken together, the Three-Body Problem makes AI job forecasting impossible to pin down. —Allison Salisbury, Forbes.com, 12 June 2025

Trade tensions weigh All eyes are now on the potential for an EU-U.S. trade deal — which is proving trickier to pin down than with some other countries, including the U.K. —Leonie Kidd, CNBC, 12 June 2025

Other costs that are harder to pin down include pay for seasonal legislative staff who will work overtime. —Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 15 May 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