stopgap

UK/ˈstɒpɡæp/US/ˈstɑpˌɡæp/

nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #14,283 of 15,258neutral

A stopgap is something that fills a gap until the real answer comes. A stopgap measure, only a stopgap, a stopgap solution.

Calling something a stopgap is a promise that it is temporary, and the joke is how many turn out not to be. It works as an adjective too — stopgap funding. The image is literally stopping a gap in a wall or a hedge.

Definitions of stopgap

1nounstopgapSomething that fills a gap until a real answer comes.C1
“The portable heaters are only a stopgap until the new boiler is installed.”

stopgap is a temporary measure.

Where it comes from

From the phrase to stop a gap, meaning to fill a hole in a wall or hedge.

The noun is derived from stop + 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.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Repair & Damage

Practise this word

stopgap in the wild

By extending the FSB from 66 to 100 MHz, Super Socket 7 gave AMD the stopgap solution they needed while developing their own independent motherboard infrastructure, Slot A.
Super Socket 7
The tank was meant to be a stopgap until the heavier P26/40 tank could be produced in numbers.
M15/42 tank
A cancelbot is an automated or semi-automated process for sending out third-party cancel messages over Usenet, commonly as a stopgap measure to combat spam.
Cancelbot
Shortly after the CSA was introduced, PCI Express was introduced and replaced the CSA stopgap.
Intel Communication Streaming Architecture
The M4B was based on the M4A Formula 2 car as a stopgap between the M2B and the M5A.
McLaren M4B

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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