not permanent; provisional lasting only a short time; transitory
a person, esp a secretary or other office worker, employed on a temporary basis
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
tem•po•rar•y /ˈtɛmpəˌrɛri/USA pronunciation
adj., n., pl. -rar•ies.
adj.
n. [countable]
tem•po•rar•i•ness, n. [uncountable]See -temp-.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026adj.
- lasting or effective for a time only; not permanent:The new bill will create 75,000 temporary jobs.
n. [countable]
- Businessan office worker hired for a short period of time and paid on a daily basis.
tem•po•rar•i•ness, n. [uncountable]See -temp-.
tem•po•rar•y
(tem′pə rer′ē),USA pronunciation adj., n., pl. -rar•ies.
adj.
n.
tem•po•rar•i•ly
(tem′pə râr′ə lē, tem′pə rer′-),USA pronunciation adv.
tem′po•rar′i•ness, n.
adj.
- Businesslasting, existing, serving, or effective for a time only; not permanent:a temporary need; a temporary job.
n.
- Businessan office worker hired, usually through an agency on a per diem basis, for a short period of time.
- Latin temporārius, equivalent. to tempor- (stem of tempus) time + -ārius -ary
- 1540–50
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged impermanent, passing. Temporary, transient, transitory agree in referring to that which is not lasting or permanent. Temporary implies an arrangement established with no thought of continuance but with the idea of being changed soon:a temporary structure.Transient describes that which is in the process of passing by, and which will therefore last or stay only a short time:a transient condition.Transitory describes an innate characteristic by which a thing, by its very nature, lasts only a short time:Life is transitory.
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged permanent.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'temporary orbit' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):