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
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
As a stopgap measure, while he searched for a female, Father thought of seeing if Peak couldn’t be accustomed to living with goats.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
