expedient
A method or means for achieving a particular result, especially when direct or efficientA method or means for achieving a particular result, especially when direct or efficient; a resource.
» Too many expedients may spoil a business.
sacredceltic · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
1 sensesA method or means for achieving a particular result, especially when direct or efficient; a resource.
Ausflucht, Ausweg, Hilfsmittel
приёмprijóm, уло́вкаulóvka
- a means to an end; not necessarily a principled or ethical one
Examples
3 sentencesToo many expedients may spoil a business.
Never lie if the truth is more expedient.
The true danger is when liberty is nibbled away, for expedients, and by parts.
Translations
7 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English expedient, from Old French expedient, from Latin expediens (stem expedFrom Middle English expedient, from Old French expedient, from Latin expediens (stem expedient-), present participle of expedire (“to bring forward, to dispatch, to expedite; impers. to be profitable, serviceable, advantageous, expedient”), from ex (“out”) + pēs (“foot, hoof”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: expedients| Singular | expedient |
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| Plural | expedients |
regular
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.