stopgap

[ stop-gap ]
See synonyms for stopgap on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. something that fills the place of something else that is lacking; temporary substitute; makeshift: Candles are a stopgap when the electricity fails.

adjective
  1. makeshift: This is only a stopgap solution.

Origin of stopgap

1
First recorded in 1525–35; noun, adj. use of verb phrase stop a gap

Other words for stopgap

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use stopgap in a sentence

  • There could be no more stopgaps, no more delays in his plans to marry Joan and settle down.

    The Monster | S. M. Tenneshaw
  • One umbrella, were it no bigger than a fairy mushroom, is worth ten such stopgaps.

    Ulysses | James Joyce

British Dictionary definitions for stopgap

stopgap

/ (ˈstɒpˌɡæp) /


noun
    • a temporary substitute for something else

    • (as modifier): a stopgap programme

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012