to pin
- verb
- /pɪn/
- Specialized
- Bradford Barnes is the Vice President of Administration, and it takes almost an hour to pin down exactly what he does.
Examples
-
In Twombly and Iqbal, however, the Court labored to pin down a meaningful and substantive test for plausibility.
Academic text (2010) -
We finally were able to pin down the last one.
Fiction book (1998) -
Instead, the project speaks to an inability to pin down the photograph's specific "social and cultural uses."
Academic text (2010) -
But she was also attempting to pin down a danger to the ship and its occupants.
Fiction book (1991) -
The rook is pinned, unable to move without exposing the king to capture.
-
In the game, she managed to pin her opponent's knight, preventing any escape.
-
He was able to pin the piece to the board, securing his strategic advantage.
Idioms
Phrasal Verbs
Compounds
- Specialized
A small metal part inside a gun that hits the cartridge to start the bullet moving
- Specialized
A metal pin with split ends that you put through a hole and bend apart to hold parts together
- Specialized
A set of small metal pins inside a lock that a key lines up to open it
- US
A small clip made of wood or plastic that holds clothes on a line while they dry
- Neologism
A small metal object worn on clothing to show support for a person or group
- US
A large oak tree that grows fast with deeply cut leaves and bright red color in autumn
- Specialized
A metal pin that joins the piston to the connecting rod in an engine so the piston can turn slightly
- Specialized
A small round metal or wooden rod that you put into holes in two pieces to hold them together
- Specialized
A small hard part inside a sirloin steak between the flat bone and the porterhouse
- Specialized
A short wooden or metal bar that holds a rope when you wrap it around
- Specialized
A wrench with pins that fit into holes to turn round nuts like locknuts
A small to medium oak tree from east-central North America with leaves that have many sharp points
- Specialized
A pin people place across a post on a ship to stop a rope from slipping off
- Specialized
A small metal rod that joins a piston to the rod that moves it in an engine
How Restricted
Surface Forms
Etymology
Pin in chess borrows the idea of fixing something in place from old English pinn meaning 'peg', meaning a piece is held so it cannot move without danger. So a pinned piece is 'stuck' like something held by a pin.