Band-Aid

[band-eyd]

Trademark.

a brand of adhesive bandage with a gauze pad in the center, used to cover minor abrasions and cuts.

noun

(often lowercase) Informal. a makeshift, limited, or temporary aid or solution that does not satisfy the basic or long-range need: The proposed reform isn't thorough enough to be more than just a band-aid.

adjective

(often lowercase) Informal. serving as a makeshift, limited, or temporary aid or solution: band-aid measures to solve a complex problem.

Origin of Band-Aid

1965–70 for defs 2, 3

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for band-aid

spontaneous, impromptu, makeshift, limited, short-lived, brief, interim, transitory, provisional, momentary, tactical, explanation, result, Band-Aid, bit, comment, remark, justification, interpretation, key

Examples from the Web for band-aid

Contemporary Examples of band-aid

Unfortunately, the best response we can muster might be much harder than a band-aid or hidden camera.
Is Brooklyn Becoming Unsafe for Gays? It Depends On Which Ones
Jay Michaelson
October 18, 2014
Hell, even the band-aid of busing was enough to spark a huge backlash to civil rights laws.
When America Said "No" to the War on Segregation
Jamelle Bouie
February 4, 2014
“AbleNook is not just a short term or Band-Aid fix, but a solution that could become a home for multiple generations,” she says.
AbleNook designers offer alternative to disaster-relief tents and trailers
Nina Strochlic
August 18, 2013
Or, we can pull off the Band-Aid attaching the two sides of banking.
Jamie Dimon’s Hubris Unshakable as JPMorgan Reelects Him to Top Two Posts
Nomi Prins
May 16, 2012
Instead of building up and having wedding promos and having it be this whole event, it was like ripping a Band-Aid off.
On the Set of ‘Parks’
Jace Lacob
September 20, 2011

Historical Examples of band-aid

He had torn open a Band-Aid and was trying to fasten it around his finger.
The Last Straw
William J. Smith

British Dictionary definitions for band-aid

Band-Aid

noun

trademark a gauze surgical dressing backed by adhesive tape
(sometimes not capitals) informal somethinɡ that provides a temporary solution to a problem

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

Word Origin and History for band-aid

Band-Aid

trademark registered 1924 by Johnson & Johnson for a stick-on gauze pad or strip. See band (n.1) + aid (n.). The British equivalent was Elastoplast. Figurative sense of "temporary or makeshift solution to a problem, pallative" (often lower case, sometimes bandaid) is first recorded 1968; as an adjective, from 1970.

band-aid in Medicine

Band-Aid

[bănd′ād′]

A trademark for an adhesive bandage with a gauze pad in the center, employed to protect minor wounds.