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
Not that she's necessarily pinned down to one city, as the model just signed with Industry Models in New York, Miami and Los Angeles.
—
Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 11 Oct. 2025
Colin Farrell has always been hard to pin down.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 10 Oct. 2025
Chaotic scene Emergency dispatch traffic described a chaotic scene, with one officer telling his colleagues that he was pinned down by gunfire outside of a house.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 9 Oct. 2025
Even as Weiss has made a name for herself in part by lambasting progressive culture, her own political views have been somewhat hard to pin down.
—Rachel Treisman, NPR, 6 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pin down
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Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 11 Oct. 2025
Colin Farrell has always been hard to pin down.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 10 Oct. 2025
Chaotic scene Emergency dispatch traffic described a chaotic scene, with one officer telling his colleagues that he was pinned down by gunfire outside of a house.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 9 Oct. 2025
Even as Weiss has made a name for herself in part by lambasting progressive culture, her own political views have been somewhat hard to pin down.
—Rachel Treisman, NPR, 6 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 21 Oct. 2025.
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