SINCE 1828
fritz
noun
\ ˈfrits
\
\
Definition of fritz
: a state of disorder or disrepair
—used in the phrase on the fritz One day the Internet connection at the house goes on the fritz [=stops working properly], so I go with the laptop to a cafe and ask if it has wireless.— Joel Achenbach
Examples of fritz in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But even as Krantz writes with forgiving fondness, this new wealth is also seen clearly, as a bunch of vulgar assholes with hardly any scruples and moral compasses frequently on the fritz. — Constance Grady, Vox, "What makes a book “unfilmable”?," 6 July 2019 When one Furby went on the fritz, it couldn't be easily swapped out for another. — Arielle Pardes, WIRED, "The Second Coming of the Robot Pet," 1 July 2019 There’s a dexterous, gibberish-spouting clown on hand (Andrey Kislitsin) who has a funny extended gag fussing with washing machines on the fritz. — Misha Berson, The Seattle Times, "In Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Volta,’ acro-bicyclists soar and an aerialist hovers in the air by her hair," 18 Sep. 2018 You’d be forgiven if your internal GPS went on the fritz in this knockout room, which recalls the Hall of Mirrors thousands of miles away. — Alex Van Buren, Condé Nast Traveler, "21 Best Bars in New York City," 1 Mar. 2018 Eventually the radio goes on the fritz again and the sisters subside back into their lives again. — Don Aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, "A dance of regret in Gloucester Stage’s ‘Lughnasa’," 20 June 2018 Records from his Cricket phone show Grider tried to call AAA, corroborating the idea that his truck was on the fritz. — Jason Pohl, azcentral, "From missing to legally dead: The search for Sheriff's Office posse member Sam Grider," 12 Jan. 2018 One place that routinely reports when signals are on the fritz: @NYCTSubway, New York City Transit’s twitter account. — Sarah Maslin Nir, New York Times, "How Often Do Subway Signals Fail? Ask Twitter," 28 Mar. 2018 Whatever is causing Tabby’s Star to randomly dim like a lightbulb on the fritz has nothing to do with alien megastructures. — Neel V. Patel, Slate Magazine, "How Interesting Does Science Have to Be for the Public to Fund It?," 4 Jan. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fritz.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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