Etymology Deverbal from make shift. First appears c. 1554, in the publications of H. Hilarie.
1
A temporary (usually insubstantial) substitution.
And I am not a model clergyman—only a decent makeshift.1871, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XVII, in Middlemarch […], volume I, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book II, page 316:
Hoboism cannot be cured or prevented by makeshifts or by local measures and efforts, although community interest naturally is vital in dealing with a problem that comes home to every community.1923, Benjamin C. Marsh, “For the Community to Do”, in The World tomorrow, volume 6:
makeshift
adj
Etymology Deverbal from make shift. First appears c. 1554, in the publications of H. Hilarie.
1
Made to work or suffice; improvised; substituted.
They used the ledge and a few branches for a makeshift shelter.
Hodgson was able to introduce Arsenal teenager Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for his debut late on as this makeshift England line-up closed out a victory that was solid for the most part without ever threatening to be spectacular.2012 May 26, Phil McNulty, “Norway 0-1 England”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 25 Jun 2021:
1 more example
The first US service members to die in the conflict between the US and Iran were killed by a direct Iranian strike on a makeshift operations center at a civilian port in Kuwait on Sunday morning local time, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.2026 March 2, Haley Britzky, “No warning, no siren: Six US service members killed in Iranian strike that hit makeshift operations center in Kuwait”, in CNN, archived from the original on 06 Mar 2026:
Greene the coneycatcher, of this dream the author, / For his dainty devise deserveth the halter. / A rakehell, a makeshift, a scribbling fool; / A famous bayard in city and school: / Now sick as a dog, and ever brain-sick, / Where such a raving and desperate Dick?1592, Gabriel Harvey, “The First Letter”, in Four Letters and Certain Sonnets, new edition, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, published 1814, A Due Commendation of the Quipping Author, page 2: