fixate

verb

fix·​ate ˈfik-ˌsāt 

fixated; fixating

intransitive verb

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

… the tourist mind tended to fixate on ice cream cones …

—T. Coraghessan Boyle

2

: to undergo arrestment at a stage of development

transitive verb

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

But what one fixates on here is how the two men flanking the woman stand protectively close to her. —Hilton Als, New Yorker, 30 May 2026

People are fixating on celebrities of all kinds, accusing singers of body-positive anthems of being hypocritical, rolling their eyes at athletes promoting weight loss drugs and whispering about the thinness of their favorite movie stars. —Sara Moniuszko, USA Today, 29 May 2026

In a conclave already fixated with security and privacy, the mansions will offer even more. —Alexandra Phelps updated May 29, Miami Herald, 29 May 2026

And interminably long campaign cycles — where media coverage fixates on the horse race and almost never engages with policy — leave voters both disengaged and underinformed. —Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 28 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

probably back-formation from fixation, in part as translation of German fixieren

First Known Use

1885, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for fixate

• abate
• airfreight
• await
• baseplate
• berate
• birthdate
• birthrate
• bookplate
• borate
• breastplate
• bromate
• casemate

Medical Definition

fixate

verb

fix·​ate ˈfik-ˌsāt 

fixated; fixating

transitive verb

1

: to focus one's gaze on

2

: to direct (the libido) toward an infantile form of gratification

intransitive verb

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

2

: to undergo arrestment at a stage of development