MacGyver

See also: macgyver

English

Etymology

From the name of the eponymous character in the television program MacGyver, a secret agent with an uncanny ability to construct weapons from seemingly useless bits of junk.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /məˈɡaɪvə/
• (US) enPR: mə-gīʹvər, IPA^(key): /məˈɡaɪvɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

MacGyver (plural MacGyvers)

1. Someone capable of improvising a solution from available resources.

Verb

MacGyver (third-person singular simple present MacGyvers, present participle MacGyvering, simple past and past participle MacGyvered)

1. (transitive) To assemble or repair something by ingenious improvisation, using everyday items that would not usually be used for the purpose.

   Our car broke down and we didn't have any tools but Jim MacGyvered it with some toenail clippers and we were able to limp to the service station.

   • 2024 April 24, Helene Cooper, “NATO Puts on a Show of Force in the Shadow of Russia’s War”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     It is why some of the American troops experimented with commercial drones that they could weaponize by fixing with explosives, to see how to counter such tactics, much as Russian troops have had to learn how to defend against Ukraine’s use of store-bought drones that have been MacGyvered with explosives.

Synonyms

• jury-rig
• nigger-rig

Related terms

• MacGyverism

Translations

to jury-rig — see jury-rig