difficulty - a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome; "grappling with financial difficulties"

dog's breakfast, dog's dinner - a poor job; a mess; "they made a real dog's breakfast of that job"

intravenous injection - an injection into a vein

colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech

improvement - the act of improving something; "their improvements increased the value of the property"

darning - the act of mending a hole in a garment with crossing threads

patching - the act of mending a hole in a garment by sewing a patch over it

maintenance, upkeep, care - activity involved in maintaining something in good working order; "he wrote the manual on car care"

quick fix, quickie, quicky, band aid - hurried repair

restoration - the act of restoring something or someone to a satisfactory state

reconstruction - the activity of constructing something again

restitution - the act of restoring something to its original state

granting immunity, exemption, immunity - an act exempting someone; "he was granted immunity from prosecution"

determination, finding - the act of determining the properties of something

echo sounding, echolocation - determining the location of something by measuring the time it takes for an echo to return from it

ameliorate, improve, meliorate, amend, better - to make better; "The editor improved the manuscript with his changes"

tinker, fiddle - try to fix or mend; "Can you tinker with the T.V. set--it's not working right"; "She always fiddles with her van on the weekend"

fill - plug with a substance; "fill a cavity"

patch, piece - repair by adding pieces; "She pieced the china cup"

cobble - repair or mend; "cobble shoes"

repoint, point - repair the joints of bricks; "point a chimney"

trouble-shoot - solve problems; "He is known to be good at trouble-shooting"

patch up, patch - mend by putting a patch on; "patch a hole"

resole, sole - put a new sole on; "sole the shoes"

revamp, vamp - provide (a shoe) with a new vamp; "revamp my old boots"

reheel, heel - put a new heel on; "heel shoes"

darn - repair by sewing; "darn socks"

strap - secure (a sprained joint) with a strap

tie, bind - fasten or secure with a rope, string, or cord; "They tied their victim to the chair"

rig - connect or secure to; "They rigged the bomb to the ignition"

bitt - secure with a bitt; "bitt the ship line"

latch - fasten with a latch; "latch the door"

garter - fasten with or as if with a garter

chain - fasten or secure with chains; "Chain the chairs together"

cable - fasten with a cable; "cable trees"

picket - fasten with a picket; "picket the goat"

rope up - attach to one another, for safety; "The mountaineers roped up when they started the final ascent"

attach - cause to be attached

cinch, girth - tie a cinch around; "cinch horses"

bandage, bind - wrap around with something so as to cover or enclose

cramp - secure with a cramp; "cramp the wood"

cleat - secure on a cleat; "cleat a line"

cast anchor, drop anchor, anchor - secure a vessel with an anchor; "We anchored at Baltimore"

anchor, ground - fix firmly and stably; "anchor the lamppost in concrete"

moor - secure with cables or ropes; "moor the boat"

moor, berth, tie up - secure in or as if in a berth or dock; "tie up the boat"

spike - secure with spikes

sew, sew together, stitch, run up - fasten by sewing; do needlework

crank - fasten with a crank

noose - secure with a noose

chock - secure with chocks

brad - fasten with brads

bight - fasten with a bight

belay - fasten a boat to a bitt, pin, or cleat

belay - turn a rope round an object or person in order to secure it or him

bar - secure with, or as if with, bars; "He barred the door"

clamp - fasten or fix with a clamp; "clamp the chair together until the glue has hardened"

velcro - fasten with velcro; "velcro the belt"

stay - fasten with stays

clinch - flatten the ends (of nails and rivets); "the nails were clinched"

clinch - secure or fasten by flattening the ends of nails or bolts; "The girder was clinched into the wall"

lock - fasten with a lock; "lock the bike to the fence"

lock up - secure by locking; "lock up the house before you go on vacation"

hasp - secure or lock with a hasp

zip, zip up, zipper - close with a zipper; "Zip up your jacket--it's cold"

tack - fasten with tacks; "tack the notice on the board"

string - string together; tie or fasten with a string; "string the package"

hook - fasten with a hook

belt - fasten with a belt; "belt your trousers"

cement - bind or join with or as if with cement

grout - bind with grout; "grout the bathtub"

staple - secure or fasten with a staple or staples; "staple the papers together"

rivet - fasten with a rivet or rivets

button - fasten with buttons; "button the dress"

pin - attach or fasten with pins

hang, hang up - cause to be hanging or suspended; "Hang that picture on the wall"

hang - place in position as by a hinge so as to allow free movement in one direction; "hang a door"

deposit, stick, wedge, lodge - fix, force, or implant; "lodge a bullet in the table"

entrench, intrench - fix firmly or securely

buckle, clasp - fasten with a buckle or buckles

brooch, clasp - fasten with or as if with a brooch

stake - tie or fasten to a stake; "stake your goat"

wire - fasten with wire; "The columns were wired to the beams for support"

quantify - use as a quantifier

choose, pick out, select, take - pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives; "Take any one of these cards"; "Choose a good husband for your daughter"; "She selected a pair of shoes from among the dozen the salesgirl had shown her"

name - mention and identify by name; "name your accomplices!"

reset - set anew; "They re-set the date on the clock"

define - give a definition for the meaning of a word; "Define `sadness'"

preserve, keep - prevent (food) from rotting; "preserved meats"; "keep potatoes fresh"

dress out, dress - kill and prepare for market or consumption; "dress a turkey"

create from raw material, create from raw stuff - make from scratch

put on - put on the stove or ready for cooking; "put on the tea, please!"

devil - coat or stuff with a spicy paste; "devilled eggs"

precook - cook beforehand so that the actual preparation won't take long; "precook the rice"

whip up, whomp up - prepare or cook quickly or hastily

cook up, concoct - prepare or cook by mixing ingredients; "concoct a strange mixture"

lard - prepare or cook with lard; "lard meat"

make - gather and light the materials for; "make a fire"

get even, get back - take revenge or even out a score; "I cannot accept the defeat--I want to get even"

pay - make a compensation for; "a favor that cannot be paid back"

institute, establish, found, plant, constitute - set up or lay the groundwork for; "establish a new department"

cytology - the branch of biology that studies the structure and function of cells

gear up, prepare, ready, set, fix, set up - make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc; "Get the children ready for school!"; "prepare for war"; "I was fixing to leave town after I paid the hotel bill"

attach - cause to be attached

neuter, spay, castrate, alter - remove the ovaries of; "Is your cat spayed?"

demasculinise, demasculinize, emasculate, castrate - remove the testicles of a male animal

vasectomise, vasectomize - remove the vas deferens; "many men choose to be vasectomized as a form of safe birth control"

operate on, operate - perform surgery on; "The doctors operated ont he patient but failed to save his life"

bury - place in the earth and cover with soil; "They buried the stolen goods"

lay, place, put, set, position, pose - put into a certain place or abstract location; "Put your things here"; "Set the tray down"; "Set the dogs on the scent of the missing children"; "Place emphasis on a certain point"

sediment - deposit as a sediment

alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue"

socialise, socialize - prepare for social life; "Children have to be socialized in school"

provide - take measures in preparation for; "provide for the proper care of the passengers on the cruise ship"

cram - prepare (students) hastily for an impending exam

precondition - put into the required condition beforehand

fix - kill, preserve, and harden (tissue) in order to prepare for microscopic study

mount - fix onto a backing, setting, or support; "mount slides for macroscopic analysis"

lay out, set up, set - get ready for a particular purpose or event; "set up an experiment"; "set the table"; "lay out the tools for the surgery"

winterise, winterize - prepare for winter; "winterize cars"; "winterize your houses"

summerise, summerize - prepare for summer; "summerize your car"; "summerize a house"

prime - insert a primer into (a gun, mine, charge, etc.) preparatory to detonation or firing; "prime a cannon"; "prime a mine"

crop, cultivate, work - prepare for crops; "Work the soil"; "cultivate the land"

brace, poise - prepare (oneself) for something unpleasant or difficult