makeshift

American  

[meyk-shift] / ˈmeɪkˌʃɪft /

noun

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

Etymology

Origin of makeshift

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

Example Sentences

Unless an airfield was available, a makeshift one would need to be set up to bring equipment in and take the nuclear material out.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

Hussein Duwaima, whose original clothes shop was destroyed, said life was coming back "gradually" in Gaza and demand has picked up ahead of the holiday as crowds of shoppers pack makeshift markets.

From Barron's • Mar. 17, 2026

There is no running water or electricity and they sleep in makeshift tents made of branches, orange tarpaulins and rocks.

From BBC • Mar. 15, 2026

I walk a frozen Bothnian Gulf at Nallikari, an obscured lighthouse, a delinquent lifeguard stand, and makeshift saunas stand on white expanse like archaeology.

From Salon • Mar. 8, 2026

Our makeshift house was made of birches bent over and tied at the tops and covered with caribou skins.

From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell