pin down

verb

pinned down; pinning down; pins down

transitive verb

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

His criticism is as consistent and considered as his moods and feelings—just pinned down and (often beautifully) articulated. —Literary Hub, 22 Dec. 2025

But when Sacco arrived, more than a year later, details about who was responsible for the violence and who was harmed proved strikingly hard to pin down. —Robert Rubsam, The Atlantic, 18 Dec. 2025

Existing techniques lacked the precision needed to definitively pin down how short the flashes really were. —Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 17 Dec. 2025

While Constance’s men pin down Fiona, Dahlia is brought out, and Fiona sees how much pain her daughter is in. —Barry Levitt, Time, 4 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1765, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pin down

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown