pin down
verb
pinned down; pinning down; pins down
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 cost aspects are hard to pin down since there are so many conflicting and confounding variables that come into the picture when determining costs for any kind of generative AI.
—
Lance Eliot, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
Subdued and hard to pin down, Parthenope the character takes its name after the city of Naples, steeped in Greek mythology as the site where a siren cast herself into the water and drowned.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 3 Mar. 2025
Webb is expected to begin observing the asteroid in March to help astronomers pin down the space rock’s orbit and size.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 19 Feb. 2025
Another person was seen on Mitchell’s head while his limbs were pinned down by others.
—Doha Madani, NBC News, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pin down
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Lance Eliot, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
Subdued and hard to pin down, Parthenope the character takes its name after the city of Naples, steeped in Greek mythology as the site where a siren cast herself into the water and drowned.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 3 Mar. 2025
Webb is expected to begin observing the asteroid in March to help astronomers pin down the space rock’s orbit and size.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 19 Feb. 2025
Another person was seen on Mitchell’s head while his limbs were pinned down by others.
—Doha Madani, NBC News, 11 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pin down
Cite this Entry
“Pin down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pin%20down. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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