What does "jury-rig" mean?
An improvised rigging.
noun, verb, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "jury-rig" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "jury-rig" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "jury-rig" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Check whether "jury-rig" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
Compare it with "action" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Before publishing a sentence with "jury-rig", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
"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."
"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."
An improvised rigging.
Common synonyms include: action, ad lib, answer, artifice, bat out, botch.
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.
Pronounced /ˈdʒʊɹ.i ɹɪɡ/.
From jury (“for temporary use, makeshift”, adjective) + rig. Likely modelled after jury-mast. The phrase 'jury-rigged' has been in use since at least 1788. The adjectival use of 'jury', in the sense of makeshift or temporary, has been said to date from at least 1616, when according to the 1933 edition of the Oxford English Dictionary|Oxford Dictionary of the English Language, 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.
See jury, rig.