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
But the financial result of this reputational damage for Tesla as a brand is harder to pin down.
—
Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2025
The story captures the dilemma between the ephemeral and the eternal inherent in any attempt to pin down the soul.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Melissa’s exact track is still tricky to pin down, but there are two main scenarios.
—Briana Waxman, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2025
No; it was named the Hubble space telescope because its main scientific purpose, as designed, was to pin down and measure the Hubble constant once and for all, and settle the debate over the Universe’s expansion rate.
—Big Think, 17 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pin down
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Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2025
The story captures the dilemma between the ephemeral and the eternal inherent in any attempt to pin down the soul.
—David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Melissa’s exact track is still tricky to pin down, but there are two main scenarios.
—Briana Waxman, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2025
No; it was named the Hubble space telescope because its main scientific purpose, as designed, was to pin down and measure the Hubble constant once and for all, and settle the debate over the Universe’s expansion rate.
—Big Think, 17 Oct. 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 6 Nov. 2025.
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