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

The video also showed that Pretti’s handgun had been removed from its holster by an officer seconds before he was pinned down and shot multiple times, including in his back. —Michael Williams, CNN Money, 28 Jan. 2026

Footage of Pretti’s final moments shows him being sprayed with a substance and pinned down to the ground by federal agents. —Callum Sutherland, Time, 28 Jan. 2026

The audience cheered as the man was pinned down and his arms were tied behind his back. —Laura Bargfeld, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2026

Criminal justice experts told CBS News last week that pinning down an exact cause is difficult, but many experts largely agreed that a normalization in routines, an influx of COVID-19 relief programs, and an increase in criminal intervention programs were responsible. —Austen Erblat, CBS News, 27 Jan. 2026

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