Word of the Day ·

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makeshift

/ˈmeɪkˌʃɪft/

noun

What it means

  1. A temporary (usually insubstantial) substitution.

    And I am not a model clergyman—only a decent makeshift.

    1871, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XVII, in Middlemarch […], volume I, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book II, page 316
    1 more example

    Hoboism cannot be cured or prevented by makeshifts or by local measures and efforts, although community interest naturally is vital in dealing with a problem that comes home to every community.

    1923, Benjamin C. Marsh, “For the Community to Do”, in The World tomorrow, volume 6

In a sentence

And I am not a model clergyman—only a decent makeshift.

1871, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XVII, in Middlemarch […], volume I, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book II, page 316

Where it comes from

Deverbal from make shift. First appears c. 1554, in the publications of H. Hilarie.

Full entry for makeshift →

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