Definition

Noun (plural): 1. The accessories or additional items that normally accompany something, especially a main dish or activity. This refers to the supplementary parts that complete or enhance the primary item, making it whole or more elaborate. 2. The ingredients or components that are mixed into a dish during cooking or preparation. This sense refers to the various food items that are combined to make a salad, stuffing, or similar mixed food.

Examples

• Sense 1 (Accessories):
  • For the barbecue, we have burgers, hot dogs, and all the fixings like ketchup, mustard, and pickles.
  • It's not just a simple hot dog; it comes with all the fixings: chili, cheese, and onions.
  • He set up the new computer with all the fixings: a large monitor, a wireless keyboard, and speakers.
• Sense 2 (Ingredients in a mixture):
  • The recipe for potato salad calls for several fixings, including celery, hard-boiled eggs, and mayonnaise.
  • She prepared the salad fixings—lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers—and stored them separately in the fridge.

Advanced Usage

• The phrase "with all the fixings" is a very common collocation. It is used to emphasize that something is provided with every possible accompanying item, making it complete, traditional, or luxurious.
  • We're serving Thanksgiving turkey with all the fixings: gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes.
• While most commonly associated with food, "fixings" can be used informally for the accessories or standard components of other things (e.g., a car, an outfit, a party).

Variants and Related Words

• Fix (verb): The root verb meaning to fasten, attach, or repair. "Fixings" derives from the idea of items that are attached or added to complete something.
• Trimmings (noun, plural): A close synonym, especially in British English, for the accessories that accompany something, particularly a meal.
  • A roast beef dinner with all the trimmings.

Synonyms

• Accessories
• Accompaniments
• Trimmings
• Garnishes (specifically for food decoration)
• Components (for the ingredient sense)
• Ingredients (for the ingredient sense)

Related Phrases

• All the fixings: The complete set of traditional or expected accessories.
• The whole shebang: (Idiomatic, informal) Everything involved, including all the fixings.

Noun

1. the accessories that normally accompany (something or some activity)
   • an elaborate formal dinner with all the fixings
   • he bought a Christmas tree and trimmings to decorate it
2. food that is a component of a mixture in cooking
   • the recipe lists all the fixings for a salad