makeshift

American  

[mayk-shift] / ˈmeɪkˌʃɪft /

noun

• makeshifts
  plural

1. 

   a temporary expedient or substitute.

   We used boxes as a makeshift while the kitchen chairs were being painted.

   Synonyms:

   jury-rig, contrivance, make-do

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adjective

1. Also makeshifty. serving as, or of the nature of, a makeshift.

   Synonyms:

   ersatz, jury, improvised, temporary, emergency

makeshift British  

/ ˈmeɪkˌʃɪft /

adjective

1. serving as a temporary or expedient means, esp during an emergency

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noun

1. something serving in this capacity

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• makeshifts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of makeshift

First recorded in 1555–65; noun, adj. use of verb phrase make shift

Explanation

If you have to use a garbage can lid as a sled or a set of drapes as a ball gown, then you know what it means to put together a makeshift creation. Something makeshift has been improvised, thrown together with whatever is around. What's interesting about makeshift is the way it can vary in meaning from approval to criticism. Those people trapped on the island in Lost? They came up with some pretty cool makeshift tents and survival ideas. But a government described as makeshift, for example, probably has little going for it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

makeshift makeshifts

Reckitt originally ran these streams using customer-service reps out of a makeshift conference room.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

McDaniel is not only trying to rally his troops, but he’s also working to maximize his makeshift offensive line’s strengths.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026

Mygal takes her to the makeshift bed in the bathroom and reads her a story about a night fairy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

As sellers waded through floodwaters to sell produce like fish and vegetables from floating platforms and foam boxes, buyers walked or paddled between the makeshift stalls to buy their groceries.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

Mom watches me as I inch further into her makeshift home.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Afghan refugee and photographer Abdul Saboor poses for Reuters as he takes pictures in a makeshifts migrant camp in Loon-Plage, near Dunkirk, France, December 4, 2021.

From Reuters ● Dec. 8, 2021

Awkward staging makeshifts had to be employed instead, resulting in hundreds of audience members leaving the theatre every night scratching their heads.

From Slate ● Nov. 29, 2013

These two are not makeshifts but attacking bowlers for turning tracks.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 23, 2011

Britain, which has to live across the Channel from Europe, wants no postwar makeshifts that will loose another world war as soon as Allied occupying forces withdraw.

From Time Magazine Archive

Mr. Henseth also tells of the makeshifts for stables and granaries in those first years.

From Some Pioneers and Pilgrims on the Prairies of Dakota Or, From the ox team to the aeroplane by H. B. Reese