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 way mafias operate — in the shadows and with high levels of control over communities — means hard data linking them to fires is fiendishly hard to pin down, Pearson told CNN. —Laura Paddison, CNN, 27 Jan. 2025

This information isn’t always easy to pin down, since prices can vary widely by geographic area, provider, patient insurance status, and more. —Jamie Ducharme, TIME, 24 Jan. 2025

The reasoning behind the switch may be hard to pin down, but sportsbooks aren’t the only ones backing this pecking order. —Mark Ross, The Athletic, 22 Jan. 2025

The last issue — the accidental county-wide send — was the one Stanford says is the most complicated to pin down. —Colleen Hagerty, Rolling Stone, 18 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1765, in the meaning defined at sense 1