stopgap
Americannoun
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of stopgap
First recorded in 1525–35; noun, adj. use of verb phrase stop a gap
Explanation
A stopgap is a temporary solution to a problem, like a piece of cardboard taped over the broken window in your car. Until you can get it fixed, you need a stopgap. This sturdy English native dates to the early 16th century, and like its semantic cousin makeshift, it seems to have been cobbled together by the two closest words at hand. Both words actually originated from phrasal use of their components: stop a gap for the first, and make shift for the second. Not that they're jury-rigged in any way!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Tra Jones, general manager of the new amphitheater and a Long Beach native, said he’s striving to make it feel less stopgap and utilitarian than FivePoint.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026
But officials say those stopgap measures may not be sustainable if the shutdown drags on.
From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026
CoreWeave and other neoclouds risk being treated as stopgap measures until that hyperscaler supply comes online by 2028.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 17, 2026
More companies chose a board member to run things day-to-day last year, usually a stopgap move that suggests succession hadn’t gone as planned, Spencer Stuart said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026
But our efforts were too little and too late, and could only be a stopgap measure.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
