Dictionary

jury-rig en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ˈdʒʊɹ.i ɹɪɡ/ (US)
• (US) audio
• /ˈdʒʊə.ɹi ɹɪɡ/ (UK)
• /ˈdʒɛɹ.i ɹɪɡ/ (US)
• (Australia) audio

Etymology

From jury (“for temporary use, makeshift”, adjective) + rig. Likely modelled after jurymast. The phrase jury-rigged has been in use since at least 1788. The adjectival use of jury (“makeshift or temporary”), has been said to date from at least 1616, when according to the 1933 edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, it appeared in John Smith's A Description of New England. It appeared in Smith's more extensive The General History of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles published in 1624.

Meanings

1. An improvised rigging.
   • […] the sickly, disheartening feeling which the men of some “overdue” ships that come into harbour at last under a jury-rig must have felt, combated, and overcome in the faithful discharge of their duty. 1904–1906, Joseph Conrad, The Mirror of the Sea, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers, published October 1906, →OCLC:

Forms

Relateds

hack · MacGyver

Translations (7)

de Bastelwerk (improvised rigging) · pl improwizacja (improvised rigging) · fi hätätakila (improvised rigging) · fi hätäriki (improvised rigging) · fr gréement de fortune (improvised rigging) · de Flickwerk (improvised rigging) · de Notlösung (improvised rigging)

jury-rig en · VERB · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ˈdʒʊɹ.i ɹɪɡ/ (US)
• (US) audio
• /ˈdʒʊə.ɹi ɹɪɡ/ (UK)
• /ˈdʒɛɹ.i ɹɪɡ/ (US)
• (Australia) audio

Etymology

From jury (“for temporary use, makeshift”, adjective) + rig. Likely modelled after jurymast. The phrase jury-rigged has been in use since at least 1788. The adjectival use of jury (“makeshift or temporary”), has been said to date from at least 1616, when according to the 1933 edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, it appeared in John Smith's A Description of New England. It appeared in Smith's more extensive The General History of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles published in 1624.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To build an improvised rigging or assembly from whichever materials are available.
   • The next day it moderated, and the day after the weather was quite fine, and the sea had gone down. We recovered our spirits, the more so as we heard no more of the cat; and having jury-rigged her aft, we steered our course with a light breeze. 1840, [Frederick] Marryat, Poor Jack. […], London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longmans, […], →OCLC:
2. (transitive) To create a makeshift, ad hoc solution from resources at hand.
   • Tech behemoths are jury-rigging AI features into their products to avoid being disrupted—but these rollouts, and Apple’s in particular, have been disastrous, giving dangerous health advice, butchering news summaries, and generally crowding and slowing user experiences. 2025 May 22, Matteo Wong, “OpenAI’s Ambitions Just Became Crystal Clear”, in The Atlantic:
   • In fact, he and his friends had kicked the idea around on the "Black Ice" board, much as they had discussed many other nifty notions, such as building personal flame-throwers and jury-rigging fistfulls of blasting-caps. 1992, Bruce Sterling, The Hacker Crackdown […] , Bantam Books, →ISBN:

Forms

Deriveds

jury-rigged

Relateds

cobble together · knock together

Synonyms

jerrybuild · kludge out · MacGyver

Translations (18)

fr avec sa bite et son couteau (to create a makeshift solution) · fi virittää (to create a makeshift solution) · pl improwizować (to make an improvised rigging) · bg стъкмявам (to create a makeshift solution) · bg стъкмя (to create a makeshift solution) · pl improwizować (to create a makeshift solution) · fi tehdä hätätakila (to make an improvised rigging) · pl zaimprowizować (to make an improvised rigging) · pl zaimprowizować (to create a makeshift solution) · de zusammenbasteln (to create a makeshift solution) · bg скалъпя (to create a makeshift solution) · ru сде́лать на скорую ру́ку (to create a makeshift solution) · hu összetákol (to create a makeshift solution) · de zusammenstoppeln (to create a makeshift solution) · de zusammenflicken (to create a makeshift solution) · de improvisieren (to create a makeshift solution) · fi tehdä viritys (to create a makeshift solution) · bg скалъпвам (to create a makeshift solution)

jury-rig en · VERB · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• /ˈdʒʊɹ.i ɹɪɡ/ (US)
• (US) audio
• /ˈdʒʊə.ɹi ɹɪɡ/ (UK)
• /ˈdʒɛɹ.i ɹɪɡ/ (US)
• (Australia) audio

Etymology

See jury, rig.

Meanings

1. (slang, transitive) To rig a jury; to engage in jury tampering, to improperly influence jurors, or the selection of jurors, such that they deliver a certain verdict.

Forms

Deriveds

jury rigging