jerry-rigged
adjective
jer·ry-rigged
ˈjer-ē-ˌrigd 
: organized or constructed in a crude or improvised manner
a jerry-rigged plan
a jerry-rigged heating system
Synonyms
Examples of jerry-rigged in a Sentence
a jerry-rigged switch to keep the machine in operation until it can be repaired
Recent Examples on the Web
Ali Al-Ahmed, a dissident Saudi scholar who kept in touch with Sahar, sent me a photograph of an apparatus that the sisters had jerry-rigged to distill fresh water from the sea, and one of a copper hook for catching fish and crabs.
—
Heidi Blake, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2024
Content by this author: Doomed From the Start Obamacare is a typically American concoction: a complicated program jerry-rigged to appeal to people with little faith in government.
—Kimberly J. Morgan, Foreign Affairs, 10 June 2024
Putin, by contrast, has jerry-rigged a rogue power while sending hundreds of thousands to their deaths in a war of choice.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
But arguably the most common and effective drones used by both sides have been simple, cheap devices whose parts are available to any consumer with an Amazon account, and jerry-rigged to carry small bombs or shells.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 20 Jan. 2024
To create a tarmac road surface at model chicken scale the team use crushed walnuts mixed with glue and sand while a motorized device that looks like a toilet roll covered in tin foil has been jerry-rigged to create ripples on water.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 16 Dec. 2023
But the constant hither and yon of Izi abandoning Benji and then coming back gets a little tired over the long haul and feels jerry-rigged to add conflict.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
This will give you a buzz: Amid the current writers and actors strike setting Hollywood ablaze, Jeopardy! has jerry-rigged a way to move forward without its writing staff for season 40.
—Vulture, 7 Aug. 2023
Alternatively, Ukrainian technicians could have jerry-rigged a rudimentary inertial and/or GPS guidance to integrate with the missile’s pre-existing Inertial Measurement Unit tracking the missile’s speed and bearing.
—Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 14 July 2023
Heidi Blake, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2024
Content by this author: Doomed From the Start Obamacare is a typically American concoction: a complicated program jerry-rigged to appeal to people with little faith in government.
—Kimberly J. Morgan, Foreign Affairs, 10 June 2024
Putin, by contrast, has jerry-rigged a rogue power while sending hundreds of thousands to their deaths in a war of choice.
—Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
But arguably the most common and effective drones used by both sides have been simple, cheap devices whose parts are available to any consumer with an Amazon account, and jerry-rigged to carry small bombs or shells.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper's Magazine, 20 Jan. 2024
To create a tarmac road surface at model chicken scale the team use crushed walnuts mixed with glue and sand while a motorized device that looks like a toilet roll covered in tin foil has been jerry-rigged to create ripples on water.
—K.j. Yossman, Variety, 16 Dec. 2023
But the constant hither and yon of Izi abandoning Benji and then coming back gets a little tired over the long haul and feels jerry-rigged to add conflict.
—Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
This will give you a buzz: Amid the current writers and actors strike setting Hollywood ablaze, Jeopardy! has jerry-rigged a way to move forward without its writing staff for season 40.
—Vulture, 7 Aug. 2023
Alternatively, Ukrainian technicians could have jerry-rigged a rudimentary inertial and/or GPS guidance to integrate with the missile’s pre-existing Inertial Measurement Unit tracking the missile’s speed and bearing.
—Sébastien Roblin, Popular Mechanics, 14 July 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'jerry-rigged.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Jerry-rigged.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jerry-rigged. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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