stopgap

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See also: stop-gap

English

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WOTD – 9 April 2022

Etymology

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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,[1] and the verb is derived from the noun.[2]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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stopgap (plural stopgaps)

  1. (rare) That which stops up or fills a gap or hole.
    Synonym: fillgap
    • 1872, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XLI, in Middlemarch […], volume II, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book IV, page 347:
      [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.
  2. (figuratively)
    1. Something spoken to fill up an uncomfortable pause in speech; a filled pause or filler.
    2. 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.
      Synonyms: band-aid, bandaid, quick fix; see also Thesaurus:workaround
      The small company used their old product with a few kludged enhancements as a stopgap until they could develop a new product.
      • 1897, Thomas Anstey Guthrie, “Chapter 4”, in Baboo Hurry Bungsho Jabberjee, B.A.:
        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.
      • 2019 October 23, Pip Dunn, “The Next King of Scotland”, in Rail, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Bauer Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, 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.
      1. (specifically) A person appointed or hired to fill a position temporarily until a permanent appointment or hire can be made; a temp.
        • 1903, P. G. Wodehouse, “Chapter 4”, in A Prefect's Uncle:
          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.

Alternative forms

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Translations

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Adjective

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stopgap (not comparable)

  1. Short-term; temporary.
    They put a stopgap solution in place, but need something more permanent.
  2. Filling a gap or pause. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Alternative forms

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Synonyms

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Translations

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See also

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Verb

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stopgap (third-person singular simple present stopgaps, present participle stopgapping, simple past and past participle stopgapped)

  1. (transitive) To stop up or fill (a physical gap or hole, or a hiatus).
  2. (intransitive) To use something as a short-term fix or temporary measure until a better alternative can be obtained.
    1. (specifically) To work at a position temporarily until a permanent appointment or hire is made.

Alternative forms

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Translations

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See also

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(provide an interim solution):

References

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  1. ^ “stopgap, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2020; “stopgap, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  2. ^ “stopgap, v.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2022.

Anagrams

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