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.
The Senate passed the stopgap spending bill last month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
“It was meant to be a three-year stopgap until we came up with something better,” he said.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
The Qatar plane is expected to serve as a stopgap until the Boeing planes are delivered.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
That’s not a policy reversal but a supply stopgap as Asia grapples with the loss of liquified natural gas from Qatar, its main source of LNG.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 2026
But our efforts were too little and too late, and could only be a stopgap measure.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
