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Synonyms

jerry-build

American  
[jer-ee-bild] / ˈdʒɛr iˌbɪld /

verb (used with object)

jerry-built, jerry-building

  1. to build cheaply and flimsily.

jerry-build British  

verb

  1. (tr) to build (houses, flats, etc) badly using cheap materials

"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

Other Word Forms

  • jerry-builder noun

Etymology

Origin of jerry-build

1880–85; back formation from jerry-builder. See jerry 2, build

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.