Repair vs. Fix — What's the Difference?
By Maham Liaqat & Fiza Rafique — Updated on March 26, 2024
Repair involves restoring something to its original condition, focusing on correct functionality, while fix is a broader term that includes any means to make something work again.
Difference Between Repair and Fix
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Repair is a term that typically implies a formal or professional process of restoring something to its original state or to proper working order. This often involves replacing parts or correcting problems to ensure functionality. On the other hand, fix can be used in both informal and formal contexts and may simply involve making something work again without adhering strictly to its original specifications or functionality.
In the context of machinery or vehicles, repair usually denotes a thorough process, addressing all issues to bring the item back to its manufacturer's specifications. Fixing, however, might only address the most immediate problem to make the machinery or vehicle operational, possibly without achieving a like-new condition.
When it comes to software, repairing often involves addressing specific bugs or issues as defined by the original design requirements, ensuring that the software operates as intended. Fixing software, on the other hand, can sometimes mean implementing workarounds or patches that solve the problem without necessarily restoring original functionality.
In everyday language, to repair something can also imply a degree of expertise or professionalism, suggesting that the person doing the repair has a specific skill set. Fixing something is more universally accessible, indicating a solution that anyone might attempt, ranging from a makeshift repair to a professional fix.
The choice between "repair" and "fix" can reflect the speaker's perspective on the situation. Repair might suggest a more durable, long-term solution, while fix might imply a quicker, possibly temporary solution to make something work.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
Restoring something to its original state or proper function.
Making something work again, not necessarily as originally.
Context
Formal, professional.
Both formal and informal.
Machinery/Vehicles
Addresses all issues to match original specifications.
May only address immediate issues, not always like-new.
Software
Fixes bugs to ensure operation as intended.
May use workarounds or patches without restoring originality.
Expertise
Implies a specific skill set or professionalism.
Accessible to anyone; can range from makeshift to professional.
Solution Perspective
Suggests durability and a long-term fix.
Can imply a quicker, possibly temporary solution.
Compare with Definitions
Repair
To restore to a condition of good operation.
The mechanic repaired the engine to its peak performance.
Fix
Implementing a solution, possibly temporary.
We need to fix the roof before the next rain.
Repair
Fixing something to bring it back to its original condition.
The jeweler repaired the antique watch precisely.
Fix
Addressing an issue directly, without full restoration.
Fixing the bike’s chain allowed him to ride home.
Repair
Professional process of making something work as designed.
The technician repaired the software issue efficiently.
Fix
To make something operational again.
I managed to fix the leak with some tape.
Repair
Addressing all functional issues to ensure proper operation.
The team repaired the damaged roadway by the deadline.
Fix
Making adjustments to improve functionality.
Fixing the settings on the app made it run faster.
Repair
Restoration that requires specific skills or tools.
Repairing an old painting requires expertise in art restoration.
Fix
Solving a problem, not necessarily by professional means.
Can you fix this error on my computer?
Repair
To restore to sound condition after damage or injury; fix
Repaired the broken watch.
Fix
To correct or set right; adjust
Fix a misspelling.
Fix the out-of-date accounts.
Repair
To set right; remedy
Repair an oversight.
Fix
To restore to proper condition or working order; repair
Fix a broken machine.
Repair
To restore or renew
Repair the immune system.
Fix
To make ready for a specific purpose, as by altering or combining elements; prepare
Fixed the room for the guests.
Fix lunch for the kids.
Repair
To make up for or compensate for (a loss or wrong, for example).
Fix
To spay or castrate (an animal).
Repair
To make repairs.
Fix
To influence the outcome or actions of (something) by improper or unlawful means
Fix a prizefight.
Fix a jury.
Repair
To betake oneself; go
Repair to the dining room.
Fix
(Informal) To take revenge upon (someone); get even with.
Repair
To go frequently or habitually
Repairs to the restaurant every week.
Fix
To place securely; make stable or firm
Fixed the tent poles in the ground.
Repair
The work, act, or process of repairing.
Fix
To secure to another; attach
Fixing the notice to the board with tacks.
Repair
Often repairs An instance or a result of repairing
The accident resulted in a costly repair to the car. My bike is in the shop for repairs.
Fix
To put into a stable or unalterable form
Tried to fix the conversation in her memory.
Repair
The state of being fit for use
The furnace is out of repair.
Fix
To make (a chemical substance) nonvolatile or solid.
Repair
General condition after use or repairing
In good repair.
Fix
(Biology) To convert (nitrogen or carbon) into stable, biologically assimilable compounds.
Repair
An act of going or sojourning
Our annual repair to the mountains.
Fix
To kill and preserve (a specimen) intact for microscopic study.
Repair
A place to which one goes frequently or habitually; a haunt.
Fix
To prevent discoloration of (a photographic image) by washing or coating with a chemical preservative.
Repair
To restore to good working order, fix, or improve damaged condition; to mend; to remedy.
To repair a house, a road, a shoe, a ship
To repair a shattered fortune
Fix
To direct steadily
Fixed her eyes on the road ahead.
Repair
To make amends for, as for an injury, by an equivalent; to indemnify for.
To repair a loss or damage
Fix
To capture or hold
The man with the long beard fixed our attention.
Repair
To transfer oneself to another place.
To repair to sanctuary for safety
Fix
To set or place definitely; establish
Fixed her residence in a coastal village.
Repair
To pair again.
Please try to repair the two earbuds to each other. Place both earbuds back into the charging case, wait for four seconds, then open it and see if they have been repaired with one another.
Fix
To determine with accuracy; ascertain
Fixed the date of the ancient artifacts.
Repair
The act of repairing something.
I took the car to the workshop for repair.
Fix
To agree on; arrange
Fix a time to meet.
Repair
The result of repairing something.
If you look closely you can see the repair in the paintwork.
Fix
To assign; attribute
Fixing the blame.
Repair
The condition of something, in respect of need for repair.
The car was overall in poor repair before the accident. But after the workshop had it for three weeks it was returned in excellent repair. But the other vehicle was beyond repair.
Fix
(Computers) To convert (data) from floating-point notation to fixed-point notation.
Repair
The act of repairing or resorting to a place.
Our annual repair to the mountains
Fix
To direct one's efforts or attention; concentrate
We fixed on the immediate goal.
Repair
A place to which one goes frequently or habitually; a haunt.
Fix
To become stable or firm; harden
Fresh plaster will fix in a few hours.
Repair
To return.
I thought . . . that he repaire should again.
Fix
Chiefly Southern US To be on the verge of; to be making preparations for. Used in progressive tenses with the infinitive
We were fixing to leave without you.
Repair
To go; to betake one's self; to resort; ass, to repair to sanctuary for safety.
Go, mount the winds, and to the shades repair.
Fix
The act of adjusting, correcting, or repairing.
Repair
To restore to a sound or good state after decay, injury, dilapidation, or partial destruction; to renew; to restore; to mend; as, to repair a house, a road, a shoe, or a ship; to repair a shattered fortune.
Secret refreshings that repair his strength.
Do thou, as thou art wont, repairMy heart with gladness.
Fix
(Informal) Something that repairs or restores; a solution
No easy fix for an intractable problem.
Repair
To make amends for, as for an injury, by an equivalent; to indemnify for; as, to repair a loss or damage.
I 'll repair the misery thou dost bear.
Fix
The position, as of a ship or aircraft, determined by visual observations with the aid of equipment.
Repair
The act of repairing or resorting to a place.
The king sent a proclamation for their repair to their houses.
Fix
A clear determination or understanding
A briefing that gave us a fix on the current situation.
Repair
Place to which one repairs; a haunt; a resort.
There the fierce winds his tender force assailAnd beat him downward to his first repair.
Fix
An instance of arranging a special consideration, such as an exemption from a requirement, or an improper or illegal outcome, especially by means of bribery.
Repair
Restoration to a sound or good state after decay, waste, injury, or partial restruction; supply of loss; reparation; as, materials are collected for the repair of a church or of a city.
Sunk down and sought repairOf sleep, which instantly fell on me.
Fix
A difficult or embarrassing situation; a predicament
"If we get left on this wreck we are in a fix" (Mark Twain).
Repair
Condition with respect to soundness, perfectness, etc.; as, a house in good, or bad, repair; the book is out of repair.
Fix
(Slang) An amount or dose of something craved, especially an intravenous injection of a narcotic.
Repair
The act of putting something in working order again
Fix
To pierce; now generally replaced by transfix.
Repair
A formal way of referring to the condition of something;
The building was in good repair
Fix
(Of a piercing look) to direct at someone.
He fixed me with a sickly grin, and said, "I told you it wouldn't work!"
Repair
A frequently visited place
Fix
(transitive) To attach; to affix; to hold in place or at a particular time.
A dab of chewing gum will fix your note to the bulletin board.
A leech can fix itself to your skin without you feeling it.
The Constitution fixes the date when Congress must meet.
Repair
Restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken;
She repaired her TV set
Repair my shoes please
Fix
To focus or determine (oneself, on a concept); to fixate.
She's fixed on the idea of becoming a doctor.
Repair
Make amends for; pay compensation for;
One can never fully repair the suffering and losses of the Jews in the Third Reich
She was compensated for the loss of her arm in the accident
Fix
To prevent enemy pawns from advancing by directly opposing the most advanced one with one of one's own pawns so as to threaten to capture any advancing backward pawns.
Repair
Move, travel, or proceed toward some place;
He repaired to his cabin in the woods
Fix
(transitive) To mend, to repair.
That heater will start a fire if you don't fix it.
You can't fix stupid.
Repair
Set straight or right;
Remedy these deficiencies
Rectify the inequities in salaries
Repair an oversight
Fix
To prepare (food or drink).
She fixed dinner for the kids.
Repair
Give new life or energy to;
A hot soup will revive me
This will renovate my spirits
This treatment repaired my health
Fix
(transitive) To make (a contest, vote, or gamble) unfair; to privilege one contestant or a particular group of contestants, usually before the contest begins; to arrange immunity for defendants by tampering with the justice system via bribery or extortion.
A majority of voters believed the election was fixed in favor of the incumbent.
Fix
To surgically render an animal, especially a pet, infertile.
Rover stopped digging under the fence after we had the vet fix him.
Fix
To map a (point or subset) to itself.
Fix
To take revenge on, to best; to serve justice on an assumed miscreant.
He got caught breaking into lockers, so a couple of guys fixed him after work.
Fix
(transitive) To render (a photographic impression) permanent by treating with such applications as will make it insensitive to the action of light.
Fix
To convert into a stable or available form.
Legumes are valued in crop rotation for their ability to fix nitrogen.
Fix
(intransitive) To become fixed; to settle or remain permanently; to cease from wandering; to rest.
Fix
(intransitive) To become firm, so as to resist volatilization; to cease to flow or be fluid; to congeal; to become hard and malleable, as a metallic substance.
Fix
A repair or corrective action.
That plumber's fix is much better than the first one's.
Fix
A difficult situation; a quandary or dilemma; a predicament.
It rained before we repaired the roof, and were we in a fix!
Fix
(informal) A single dose of an addictive drug administered to a drug user.
Fix
A prearrangement of the outcome of a supposedly competitive process, such as a sporting event, a game, an election, a trial, or a bid.
Fix
A determination of location.
We have a fix on your position.
Fix
(US) fettlings (mixture used to line a furnace)
Fix
Fixed; solidified.
Fix
To make firm, stable, or fast; to set or place permanently; to fasten immovably; to establish; to implant; to secure; to make definite.
An ass's nole I fixed on his head.
O, fix thy chair of grace, that all my powersMay also fix their reverence.
His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.
And fix far deeper in his head their stings.
Fix
To transfix; to pierce.
Fix
To render (an impression) permanent by treating with a developer to make it insensible to the action of light.
Fix
To put in order; to arrange; to dispose of; to adjust; to set to rights; to set or place in the manner desired or most suitable; hence, to repair; as, to fix the clothes; to fix the furniture of a room.
Fix
To line the hearth of (a puddling furnace) with fettling.
Fix
To become fixed; to settle or remain permanently; to cease from wandering; to rest.
Your kindness banishes your fear,Resolved to fix forever here.
Fix
To become firm, so as to resist volatilization; to cease to flow or be fluid; to congeal; to become hard and malleable, as a metallic substance.
Fix
A position of difficulty or embarassment; predicament; dilemma.
Is he not living, then? No. is he dead, then? No, nor dead either. Poor Aroar can not live, and can not die, - so that he is in an almighty fix.
Fix
Fettling.
Fix
Informal terms for a difficult situation;
He got into a terrible fix
He made a muddle of his marriage
Fix
Something craved, especially an intravenous injection of a narcotic drug;
She needed a fix of chocolate
Fix
The act of putting something in working order again
Fix
An exemption granted after influence (e.g., money) is brought to bear;
Collusion resulted in tax fixes for gamblers
Fix
A determination of the location of something;
He got a good fix on the target
Fix
Restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken;
She repaired her TV set
Repair my shoes please
Fix
Cause to be firmly attached;
Fasten the lock onto the door
She fixed her gaze on the man
Fix
Decide upon or fix definitely;
Fix the variables
Specify the parameters
Fix
Prepare for eating by applying heat;
Cook me dinner, please
Can you make me an omelette?
Fix breakfast for the guests, please
Fix
Take vengeance on or get even;
We'll get them!
That'll fix him good!
This time I got him
Fix
Set or place definitely;
Let's fix the date for the party!
Fix
Kill, preserve, and harden (tissue) in order to prepare for microscopic study
Fix
Make fixed, stable or stationary;
Let's fix the picture to the frame
Fix
Make infertile;
In some countries, people with genetically transmissible disbilites are sterilized
Fix
Put (something somewhere) firmly;
She posited her hand on his shoulder
Deposit the suitcase on the bench
Fix your eyes on this spot
Fix
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
Common Curiosities
How do I know if something needs a repair or just a fix?
It depends on the issue's complexity and whether restoring to original condition is necessary or desired.
Do I need special tools to repair something?
It depends on what you're repairing; some repairs might require specific tools.
Is repairing always more expensive than fixing?
Often, but not always, as repair might involve comprehensive work and replacement parts.
Can software be repaired?
Yes, software can be repaired by addressing bugs or issues to restore intended functionality.
Is fixing more common than repairing?
In informal contexts, yes, as fixes can be applied to a wide range of problems with varying degrees of permanence.
Can I fix something without professional help?
Yes, fixing can sometimes be done without professional skills, depending on the issue.
Is a fix always a temporary solution?
Not always; some fixes can permanently resolve an issue, though they might not restore original functionality.
Can all items be repaired?
Not all; some items might be beyond repair due to extensive damage or obsolescence.
Can a repair guarantee the item will work like new?
Ideally, yes, especially if done professionally and thoroughly.
What's the difference between a mechanic's fix and a repair?
A mechanic's repair typically involves professional, comprehensive work to restore functionality, whereas a fix might address a specific issue more quickly.
Why might someone choose a fix over a repair?
Due to cost, time constraints, or if the item doesn't require full restoration.
Does repairing take longer than fixing?
Generally, yes, because repairs can be more comprehensive and detailed.
Are repairs more sustainable than fixes?
Often, as repairs aim to restore items to their original condition, potentially extending their lifespan.
What is considered a professional repair?
A repair done by someone with specific expertise or qualifications in that field.
Can DIY solutions be considered repairs?
If they restore the item to its original or proper functioning, they can be considered repairs.
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Written by
Maham Liaqat
Co-written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
