stopgap

See also: stop-gap

English

Alternative forms

• stop-gap (more common in the UK)

Etymology

From stop +‎ gap.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

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Adjective

stopgap (not comparable)

1. (Should we delete⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) Filling a gap or pause.
2. (Should we delete⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) Temporary; short-term.

   They put a stopgap solution in place, but need something more permanent.

Translations

temporary, short-term

• Czech: provizorní (cs)
• Dutch: lapmiddel (nl)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: rangitahi

Noun

stopgap (plural stopgaps)

1. That which fills a gap or hiatus.
2. (figuratively) A temporary measure or short-term fix used until something better can be obtained; that which serves as an expedient in an emergency; a band-aid solution.

   The small company uses their old product with a few kludged enhancements as a stopgap until they can develop a new product.

   • 2019 October 23, Pip Dunn, “The next king of Scotland”, in Rail, page 50:

     It is often argued that the HST saved BR's InterCity market. It was only ever intended as a stopgap, but it proved to be a winner.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:workaround

Translations

temporary, short-term

• Czech: provizorium
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Dutch: lapmiddel (nl)

References

• “stopgap”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Anagrams

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