MacGyver

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 en /məˈɡaɪvə/ UK mə-gīʹvər mik- US, en /məˈɡaɪvɚ/ /mɪk-/ en en-us-MacGyver.ogg US Noun Someone capable of improvising an ingenious solution from everyday objects or unsuitable resources. Verb en transitive dated To assemble or repair something by ingenious improvisation, using everyday items that would not usually be used for the purpose. en 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. en-US Helene Cooper NATO Puts on a Show of Force in the Shadow of Russia’s War The New York Times 2024-04-24 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/24/us/politics/nato-exercise-russia-ukraine.html 0362-4331 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. https://web.archive.org/web/20250625175509/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/24/us/politics/nato-exercise-russia-ukraine.html 25 June 2025 Synonyms en jury-rig en nigger-rig Related terms en MacGyverism Translations to jury-rig jury-rig en Fictional characters en eponyms terms derived from fiction