stopgap
Americannoun
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of stopgap
First recorded in 1525–35; noun, adj. use of verb phrase stop a gap
Explanation
A stopgap is a temporary solution to a problem, like a piece of cardboard taped over the broken window in your car. Until you can get it fixed, you need a stopgap. This sturdy English native dates to the early 16th century, and like its semantic cousin makeshift, it seems to have been cobbled together by the two closest words at hand. Both words actually originated from phrasal use of their components: stop a gap for the first, and make shift for the second. Not that they're jury-rigged in any way!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Any surprise intervention by the Japanese government to prop up the yen is likely nothing more than a stopgap measure to buy time, said Kenta Tadaide, chief currency strategist at Daiwa Securities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
“It was meant to be a three-year stopgap until we came up with something better,” he said.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
That would suggest that hyperscalers are using neoclouds more as a stopgap measure than a long-term solution.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
The Qatari-gifted plane is meant to be a stopgap until US planemaker Boeing delivers two new 747-8 aircraft to serve as the presidential jet in a program plagued by delays and cost overruns.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
Either way, we were well past the point of any sort of stopgap treatment.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
