MacGyver.
Someone capable of improvising an ingenious solution from everyday objects or unsuitable resources.
Meaning & usage
Someone capable of improvising an ingenious solution from everyday objects or unsuitable resources.
Where this word comes from
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.
To 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.
Where this word comes from
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.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.