stopgap

[ stop-gap ]

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.

   Synonyms: impromptu, substitute, temporary, improvised

stopgap

/ ˈstɒpˌɡæp /

noun

1. 1. a temporary substitute for something else
   2. ( as modifier )

      a stopgap programme

Word History and Origins

Origin of stopgap¹

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

Example Sentences

Jones acknowledges that the company’s technology is only a stopgap solution… for now.

From TechCrunch

Washington could also pursue Ryan, a steady veteran similar to Alex Smith without the injury concerns, or Mariota, a one-season stopgap.

From Washington Post

Complicating matters, lawmakers still have not reached an agreement on how to fund the federal agencies beyond the stopgap bill.

From Washington Post

Lenders have allowed some borrowers to delay payments or use loan reserves as a stopgap.

From Washington Post

If a stopgap funding bill isn’t passed by the end of September, the federal government will shut down.

From Fortune

He has left millions of homeowners to fend for themselves, and even his health care plan is really only a stopgap measure.

From The Daily Beast

His “strategists” have concocted a series of stopgap tactics.

From The Daily Beast

As for Fattorosi of XPays, he sees the lawsuits as only a stopgap.

From The Daily Beast

But even Joffe admits that a better radar and rapid reaction system is only a partial, stopgap solution.

From The Daily Beast

Only it had been planned as a short-term stopgap—one to be used only until a below-surface airlock could be constructed.

From Project Gutenberg

However, a stopgap was found in the person of the book-keeper, a young Englishman, who knew more of music than accounts.

From Project Gutenberg

The stopgap was such that it must remain as it was; and every further effort was useless.

From Project Gutenberg

Because Brownlee knows why I'm looking for a cure to replace the stopgap.

From Project Gutenberg

In this his Christian neighbours liked him well, insomuch as he was a kind of stay or stopgap to the infidels.

From Project Gutenberg