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
Savannah is a city fixated on its ghosts, whether in the form of a hovering spirit or the weight of a rich, complicated history that seems to drape everything like Spanish moss.
—Adam Kuehl, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2026
Vedam’s supporters believe investigators fixated on him as the lone suspect at the expense of other legitimate leads, arguing that his ethnicity played a role in how authorities homed in on him in the early days of the case and at trial.
—Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 17 Feb. 2026
That’s why companies fixated on presence rather than productivity gains that actually enable an AI-first future are at a disadvantage.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 17 Feb. 2026
Lawmakers looking to honor her Hortman’s senior adviser said Hortman would fixate on the little trees along the path from the Capitol to the Centennial building.
—Mary Murphy, Twin Cities, 16 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fixate
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Adam Kuehl, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2026
Vedam’s supporters believe investigators fixated on him as the lone suspect at the expense of other legitimate leads, arguing that his ethnicity played a role in how authorities homed in on him in the early days of the case and at trial.
—Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 17 Feb. 2026
That’s why companies fixated on presence rather than productivity gains that actually enable an AI-first future are at a disadvantage.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 17 Feb. 2026
Lawmakers looking to honor her Hortman’s senior adviser said Hortman would fixate on the little trees along the path from the Capitol to the Centennial building.
—Mary Murphy, Twin Cities, 16 Feb. 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 28 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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