Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Suitable as a temporary or expedient substitute.
- noun A temporary or expedient substitute for something else.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A shifty person; one given to shifts or expedients; a mischievous fellow.
- noun That with which one makes shift; an expedient adopted to serve a present need or turn; a temporary substitute.
- Of the nature of a temporary expedient.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun That with which one makes shift; a temporary expedient, with implication of inferiority to the more usual object or means.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
temporary , usuallyinsubstantial ,substitution for something else. - adjective Made to
work orsuffice ;improvised ;substituted .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun something contrived to meet an urgent need or emergency
- adjective done or made using whatever is available
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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I think what you call the makeshift contrivances at dear Helstone were a charming part of the life there. '
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Argueta contrasts these accounts with those dragged into the raid's aftermath - a massive operation where workers were tried ten-at-a-time in makeshift courtrooms at a cattle fairground.
Renee Feltz: New Film Tries to Inject Compassion Into Immigration Debate
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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Oct 22, 2010 (IPS) - Some 1.3 million people have lived in makeshift camps throughout Port-au-Prince since the January earthquake devastated the city.
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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Oct 22, 2010 (IPS) - Some 1.3 million people have lived in makeshift camps throughout Port-au-Prince since the January earthquake devastated the city.
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Several million residents live in makeshift boats, floating slums without electricity or potable water that fester with crime, disease, and prostitution.
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In July, a CNN investigation revealed that since the quake that left thousands of children orphaned and up to 1.5 million people living on the streets and in makeshift camps, much of the aid promised to the country has yet to be delivered.
Rev. Jesse Jackson: Haiti: Our Promise, Our History, Our Neighbor
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In July, a CNN investigation revealed that since the quake that left thousands of children orphaned and up to 1.5 million people living on the streets and in makeshift camps, much of the aid promised to the country has yet to be delivered.
Rev. Jesse Jackson: Haiti: Our Promise, Our History, Our Neighbor
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Argueta contrasts these accounts with those dragged into the raid's aftermath - a massive operation where workers were tried ten-at-a-time in makeshift courtrooms at a cattle fairground.
Renee Feltz: New Film Tries to Inject Compassion Into Immigration Debate
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Argueta contrasts these accounts with those dragged into the raid's aftermath - a massive operation where workers were tried ten-at-a-time in makeshift courtrooms at a cattle fairground.
Renee Feltz: New Film Tries to Inject Compassion Into Immigration Debate
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Here they eke out a hand-to-mouth existence in makeshift settlements around the water desalination plants that the government has set up.
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