fixated; fixating
1
: to focus or concentrate one's gaze or attention intently or obsessively
… he was fixating on the airport in the distance, trying to find the assigned runway.—
Richard L. Collins
Richard L. Collins… the tourist mind tended to fixate on ice cream cones …—T. Coraghessan Boyle
T. Coraghessan Boyle2
: to undergo arrestment at a stage of development
1
: to make fixed, stationary, or unchanging
2
: to focus one's gaze on
3
: to direct (the libido) toward an infantile form of gratification
Examples of fixate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
At that time, Trump reportedly fixated less on Warsh’s views on interest rates than on his youth and appearance.
—Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 30 Jan. 2026
What Vickers first noticed then — and what has been borne out in numerous experiments over the decades since — is that, before initiating an action, elite athletes fixate on a target of interest earlier and for longer than amateurs do.
—Big Think, 29 Jan. 2026
In August 2024, while the technology world fixated on billion-dollar AI startups, something quieter but potentially more consequential was happening in American education.
—Bryan Penprase, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Onlookers tend to fixate on starting lineups.
—Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fixate
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Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 30 Jan. 2026
What Vickers first noticed then — and what has been borne out in numerous experiments over the decades since — is that, before initiating an action, elite athletes fixate on a target of interest earlier and for longer than amateurs do.
—Big Think, 29 Jan. 2026
In August 2024, while the technology world fixated on billion-dollar AI startups, something quieter but potentially more consequential was happening in American education.
—Bryan Penprase, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Onlookers tend to fixate on starting lineups.
—Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fixate
Cite this Entry
“Fixate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fixate. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
fixate
verb
fix·ate
ˈfik-ˌsāt 
fixated; fixating
1
: to focus one's gaze on
2
: to direct (the libido) toward an infantile form of gratification
1
: to focus or concentrate one's gaze or attention
an infant with normal vision … will fixate on a light held before him—The Journal of the American Medical Association
The Journal of the American Medical Association2
: to undergo arrestment at a stage of development
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