stopgap.
That which stops up or fills a gap or hole.
Meaning & usage
That which stops up or fills a gap or hole.
Something spoken to fill up an uncomfortable pause in speech; a filled pause or filler.
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.
The small company used their old product with a few kludged enhancements as a stopgap until they could develop a new product.
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. A person appointed or hired to fill a position temporarily until a permanent appointment or hire can be made; a temp.
Where this word comes from
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, and the verb is derived from the noun.
Short-term; temporary.
They put a stopgap solution in place, but need something more permanent.
Filling a gap or pause.
Where this word comes from
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, and the verb is derived from the noun.
To stop up or fill (a physical gap or hole, or a hiatus).
To use something as a short-term fix or temporary measure until a better alternative can be obtained.
To use something as a short-term fix or temporary measure until a better alternative can be obtained. To work at a position temporarily until a permanent appointment or hire is made.
Where this word comes from
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, and the verb is derived from the noun.
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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.