stopgap
Syllables: stop·gapUK/ˈstɒpɡæp//ˈstɑpˌɡæp/
stopgap noun: that which stops up or fills a gap or hole.
Noun
stopgap (plural stopgaps)
- That which stops up or fills a gap or hole.
- [A] bit of ink and paper which has long been an innocent wrapping or stop-gap may at last be laid open under the one pair of eyes which have knowledge enough to turn it into the opening of a catastrophe.1872, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XLI, in Middlemarch […], volume II, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book IV, page 347
- Synonyms:
- fillgap
- 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.
- Perhaps I shall be told that this wintry exhibition is a mere stopgap and makeshift, until a fresh supply of bright new paintings can be procured, and that it is ultra vires to obtain such for love or money before the merry month of May.1897, Thomas Anstey Guthrie, “Chapter 4”, in Baboo Hurry Bungsho Jabberjee, B.A.
- A person appointed or hired to fill a position temporarily until a permanent appointment or hire can be made; a temp.
- As witness the following. Mr Strudwick, the regular master of the form, happened on one occasion to be away for a couple of days, and a stop-gap was put in in his place. The name of the stop-gap was Mr Somerville Smith. He and Farnie exchanged an unspoken declaration of war almost immediately.1903, P. G. Wodehouse, “Chapter 4”, in A Prefect's Uncle
Adjective
stopgap (not comparable)
- Short-term; temporary.
- They put a stopgap solution in place, but need something more permanent.
- Filling a gap or pause.
Verb
stopgap (third-person singular simple present stopgaps, present participle stopgapping, simple past and past participle stopgapped)
- 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 work at a position temporarily until a permanent appointment or hire is made.
stopgap meaning in Bengali, Malayalam and Kannada
stopgap in Bengali
- সাময়িক ব্যবস্থা, জোড়াতালি
stopgap in Malayalam
- temporary solution, expedient, makeshift
- തൽക്കാലനിവൃത്തി, താൽക്കാലികോപായം, പോംവഴി, പരിഹാരം, തൽക്കാലപരിഹാരം, ഹിതോപായം
- provisional, temporary, interim
- താൽക്കാലികോപായമായ, തൽക്കാലത്തേക്കുള്ള, അല്പകാലത്തേക്കുള്ള, തൽക്കാലാവശ്യത്തിനുള്ള, ഇടക്കാലത്തേക്കുള്ള, താൽക്കാലിക
stopgap in Kannada
- ಅಲ್ಪಕಾಲದ ಬದಲಿ, ತಾತ್ಕಾಲಿಕ ಬದಲಿ, ಬದಲಿ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆ, ಮಾರೇರ್ಪಾಡು, ನಡುವಿನ ಏರ್ಪಾಡು
Synonyms of stopgap
12 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of stopgap
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | stopgaps |
| alternative form | stop-gap |
| alternative form (rare) | stuff gap |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | stopgaps |
| present participle | stopgapping |
| past participle | stopgapped |
| past | stopgapped |
Origin of stopgap
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.
Questions about stopgap
- What does stopgap mean?
- Stopgap means that which stops up or fills a gap or hole.
- What is stopgap in Bengali?
- Stopgap in Bengali is সাময়িক ব্যবস্থা, জোড়াতালি. See Stopgap meaning in Bengali.
- What part of speech is stopgap?
- Stopgap can be a noun, an adjective or a verb.
- How do you pronounce stopgap?
- Stopgap is pronounced /ˈstɒpɡæp/ (UK).
- What is the plural of stopgap?
- The plural of stopgap is stopgaps.
Words near stopgap in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: stopgap (page history and authors); stopgap (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); stopgap (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); stopgap (Kannada Wiktionary) (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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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-stopgap.ogg.
Cite this entry: “stopgap.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/stopgap. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.