makeshift.
A temporary (usually insubstantial) substitution.
Meaning & usage
A temporary (usually insubstantial) substitution.
Where this word comes from
Deverbal from make shift. First appears c. 1554, in the publications of H. Hilarie.
Made to work or suffice; improvised; substituted.
They used the ledge and a few branches for a makeshift shelter.
Where this word comes from
Deverbal from make shift. First appears c. 1554, in the publications of H. Hilarie.
A rogue; a shifty person.
Where this word comes from
1560s. From make + shift.
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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.