jury-rig

American  

[joor-ee-rig] / ˈdʒʊər iˌrɪg /

Also jerry-rig

noun

1. Nautical. a temporary rig to replace a permanent rig that has been disabled, lost overboard, etc.

2. any makeshift arrangement of machinery or the like.

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verb (used with object)

jury-rigged, jury-rigging

1. to assemble quickly or from whatever is at hand, especially for temporary use.

   to jury-rig stage lights using automobile headlights.

2. Nautical. to replace (a rudder, mast, etc.) with a jury-rig.

   We jury-rigged a fore-topmast after the storm had snapped ours off.

Etymology

Origin of jury-rig

First recorded in 1840–50; jury ² ( def. ) + rig ( def. )

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

jury-rig jury-rigged jury-rigging

So Barnsdall improvised, pushing two Wright-designed tables together to jury-rig a stand for it, asserting herself in the space.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2023

Taylor plays Inez, a young Harlem fast talker who decides to jury-rig a family by any means necessary.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 31, 2023

Then again, Belters jury-rig everything, so I suppose it’s not too surprising they carelessly bound this macro.

From The Verge ● Jan. 13, 2022

Listen to a season while you jury-rig face masks or sanitize groceries.

From New York Times ● Apr. 16, 2020

He could jury-rig the Archimedes sphere into some sort of flying device, maybe, but only if he had his tool belt—which he didn’t.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

I jury-rigged a heating element for our Kenmore refrigerator’s balky ice-maker water-feed tube.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

Some A/Cs, like the one I’m testing, rest on jury-rigged hardware-store brackets; others lean on stacks of wood, or brick, or, in one case, a rock—their owners improvising to keep cool.

From Slate ● Aug. 12, 2023

So Mr. Holden jury-rigged a food-laden steel trap with a trip wire dangling from his second-story apartment.

From New York Times ● Jun. 8, 2023

Ultimately the league canceled it altogether, which required jury-rigged adjustments to the playoff structure.

From Salon ● Jan. 11, 2023

Everyone in the neighborhood was so full of their own cleverness at having jury-rigged a solution to the Tap-Out.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Because of a global shortage of large gas turbines, Mr. Musk’s xAI and some companies are jury-rigging gas plants by installing clusters of small turbines and even retrofitting old jet engines.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026

Amid those punishing strikes, Ukraine scrambled to stay ahead of mounting damage, with repair crews working around the clock and under fire, desperately jury-rigging old equipment and rationing precious power.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2023

We spend our lives jury-rigging solutions with limited resources.

From New York Times ● Apr. 23, 2020

She had tried jury-rigging a diaper and a baby onesie but it didn’t really work.

From Washington Post ● May 23, 2016

At least that jury-rigging will be NASA's job to work out, not mine.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

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