stopgap
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L328566 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈstɒpɡæp/ / /ˈstɑpˌɡæp/
adj
Etymology: The noun is derived from stop (“to close or block (an opening)”) + gap, from the phrase to stop a gap. The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun, and the verb is derived from the noun.
- Short-term; temporary.
“They put a stopgap solution in place, but need something more permanent.”
- Filling a gap or pause.
noun
Etymology: The noun is derived from stop (“to close or block (an opening)”) + gap, from the phrase to stop a gap. The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun, and the verb is derived from the noun.
- That which stops up or fills a gap or hole.
“[A] bit of ink and paper which has long been an innocent wrapping or stop-gap may at last be laid open under the one pair of eyes which have knowledge enough to turn it into the opening of a catastrophe.”
- Something spoken to fill up an uncomfortable pause in speech; a filled pause or filler.
- A short-term fix or temporary measure used until something better can be obtained; that which serves as an expedient in an emergency; a band-aid solution.
“The small company used their old product with a few kludged enhancements as a stopgap until they could develop a new product.”
“Perhaps I shall be told that this wintry exhibition is a mere stopgap and makeshift, until a fresh supply of bright new paintings can be procured, and that it is ultra vires to obtain such for love or money before the merry month of May.”
- A short-term fix or temporary measure used until something better can be obtained; that which serves as an expedient in an emergency; a band-aid solution.
“As witness the following. Mr Strudwick, the regular master of the form, happened on one occasion to be away for a couple of days, and a stop-gap was put in in his place. The name of the stop-gap was Mr Somerville Smith. He and Farnie exchanged an unspoken declaration of war almost immediately.”
verb
Etymology: The noun is derived from stop (“to close or block (an opening)”) + gap, from the phrase to stop a gap. The adjective is from an attributive use of the noun, and the verb is derived from the noun.
- To stop up or fill (a physical gap or hole, or a hiatus).
- To use something as a short-term fix or temporary measure until a better alternative can be obtained.
- To use something as a short-term fix or temporary measure until a better alternative can be obtained.