fritz

fritz

Slang a broken or nonfunctioning state: only in the phrase on the fritz, not in working order

Origin of fritz

from Ger, nickname for Friedrich: origin, originally meant a German; current sense in allusion to cheap German goods exported to United States before World War I

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"fritz." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 11 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Fritz>.

APA Style

fritz. (n.d.). Retrieved December 11th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Fritz

fritz

noun

Informal

A condition in which something does not work properly: Our television is on the fritz.

Origin of fritz

Perhaps from German Fritz diminutive of the name Friedrich

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"fritz." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 11 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Fritz>.

APA Style

fritz. (n.d.). Retrieved December 11th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Fritz

Noun

(uncountable)

(US, informal) The state of being defective.
(Australia, chiefly South Australia) A type of processed meat sausage; devon

Usage notes

Used especially in the expression on the fritz.

Related terms

on the fritz

Verb

(third-person singular simple present fritzes, present participle fritzing, simple past and past participle fritzed)

(intransitive) To go wrong or become defective.

Origin

Unknown. See on the fritz, which appeared in 1902. Possibly from German name Fritz, or onomatopoeia.

Noun

(plural Fritzes)

(UK, offensive) A German person (used in a nominal sense).
You! Fritz! Tell us where the ammunition's kept!

Proper noun

(UK, offensive) A name used to represent the German people (particularly the German armed forces) as a group.
But if Fritz is stationed in that patch of woodland, we've got no chance!
A male given name.

Origin

From German Fritz, pet form of Friedrich (“Frederick”).

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"fritz." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 11 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Fritz>.

APA Style

fritz. (n.d.). Retrieved December 11th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Fritz

fritz

fritz

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fritz

fritz

Sentence Examples

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Words near fritz in the dictionary

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