Word.ws English Dictionary

MacGyverism

MacGyverism noun: an ingeniously improvised solution to a problem.

Noun

MacGyverism (countable and uncountable, plural MacGyverisms)

  1. An ingeniously improvised solution to a problem.
    • Anyone can learn real-life MacGyverisms using everyday items — you just have to be a little sneaky.2005, Mark Frauenfelder, Make: Technology on Your Time, volume 4, page 152
    • She wanted the quick fix — the most economical choice — the MacGyverism. But that's not what she needed. She needed a complete makeover.2008, Joshua Via, The Discovery: Beyond the Jesus of Flapjacks and Grilled Cheese, page 45

Forms of MacGyverism

pluralMacGyverisms

Origin of MacGyverism

From MacGyver + -ism, after the US television show MacGyver (1985–1992) in which the eponymous secret agent resolves crises through practical application of scientific knowledge and inventive use of common items.

Questions about MacGyverism

What does MacGyverism mean?
MacGyverism means an ingeniously improvised solution to a problem.
What part of speech is MacGyverism?
MacGyverism is a noun.
What is the plural of MacGyverism?
The plural of MacGyverism is MacGyverisms.

Words near MacGyverism in the dictionary

  1. MacGuffinite
  2. MacGuffins
  3. macgyver
  4. macgyvered
  5. MacGyvering
  6. MacGyverism
  7. MacGyverisms
  8. MacGyvers
  9. Mach
  10. Mach angle
  11. Mach angles

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: MacGyverism (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “MacGyverism.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/macgyverism. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.