Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A substitute for something unobtainable at the time; a makeshift.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective improvised, makeshift
  • noun A temporary or makeshift expedient

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun something contrived to meet an urgent need or emergency

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • Celebrate recycling – make-do and mend should become a virtue.

    Public managers need to wake up and make the savings 2011

  • The sculpture's outlandish size, its unlikely setting, the make-do materials, not to mention its utter uselessness as a water-going vehicle, combine to evoke the innocent madcap fascinations many of us adults never fully outgrow for train sets, dolls' houses, snowmen and sandcastles.

    This week's new exhibitions 2011

  • That was our 'MO' for the rest of the week, and it worked, but it was definitely a make-do, not something I'd want to live with forever.

    Tankless propane water heater. 2009

  • That was our 'MO' for the rest of the week, and it worked, but it was definitely a make-do, not something I'd want to live with forever.

    Tankless propane water heater. 2009

  • That was our 'MO' for the rest of the week, and it worked, but it was definitely a make-do, not something I'd want to live with forever.

    Tankless propane water heater. 2009

  • That was our 'MO' for the rest of the week, and it worked, but it was definitely a make-do, not something I'd want to live with forever.

    Tankless propane water heater. 2009

  • He also warned him with a wagging finger against slipshod outfits like the make-do Met, where art was ruined for want of rehearsal Szell had been the company's principal conductor in the 1940s.

    The Met's Rock of Ages Norman Lebrecht 2011

  • That was our 'MO' for the rest of the week, and it worked, but it was definitely a make-do, not something I'd want to live with forever.

    Tankless propane water heater. 2009

  • That was our 'MO' for the rest of the week, and it worked, but it was definitely a make-do, not something I'd want to live with forever.

    Tankless propane water heater. 2009

  • That was our 'MO' for the rest of the week, and it worked, but it was definitely a make-do, not something I'd want to live with forever.

    Tankless propane water heater. 2009

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