macgyver

M3A1C3G2Y4V4E1R1
UK/məˈɡaɪvə/US/məˈɡaɪvɚ/US/mɪk-/

noun

Someone capable of improvising an ingenious solution from everyday objects or unsuitable resources.

“Our car broke down and we didn't have any tools but Jim MacGyvered it with some toenail clippers and we were able to limp to the service station.”

Similar
jury-rignigger-rig
Less commonScrabble 19
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Meanings

macgyver1

verbmacgyver (third-person singular simple present macgyvers, present participle macgyvering, simple past and past participle macgyvered)

present singular third person macgyvers · participle present macgyvering · participle past macgyvered · past macgyvered

  1. alternativeAlternative spelling of MacGyver.

MacGyver2

nounMacGyver (plural MacGyvers)

plural MacGyvers

  1. Someone capable of improvising an ingenious solution from everyday objects or unsuitable resources.
verbMacGyver (third-person singular simple present MacGyvers, present participle MacGyvering, simple past and past participle MacGyvered)

present singular third person MacGyvers · participle present MacGyvering · participle past MacGyvered · past MacGyvered

  1. datedtransitiveTo assemble or repair something by ingenious improvisation, using everyday items that would not usually be used for the purpose.

    Our car broke down and we didn't have any tools but Jim MacGyvered it with some toenail clippers and we were able to limp to the service station.

    1 more example

    It is why some of the American troops experimented with commercial drones that they could weaponize by fixing with explosives, to see how to counter such tactics, much as Russian troops have had to learn how to defend against Ukraine’s use of store-bought drones that have been MacGyvered with explosives.

    2024 April 24, Helene Cooper, “NATO Puts on a Show of Force in the Shadow of Russia’s War”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

    Synonyms: jury-rig, nigger-rig

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo assemble or repair something by ingenious improvisation, using everyday items that would not usually be used for the purpose.

Similar
jury-rignigger-rig
Also see
bodgebotchjury-rigkludgenigger-rig

Origin

From the name of the eponymous character in the television program MacGyver, a secret agent with an uncanny ability to construct weapons from seemingly useless bits of junk.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

McGarvey
Cite this entry
APA

macgyver. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/macgyver

MLA

“macgyver.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/macgyver. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “macgyver,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/macgyver.

Source: macgyver on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.