The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003):

workaround
 n.

    1. A temporary kluge used to bypass, mask, or otherwise avoid a bug or
    misfeature in some system. Theoretically, workarounds are always replaced
    by fixes; in practice, customers often find themselves living with
    workarounds for long periods of time. ?The code died on NUL characters in
    the input, so I fixed it to interpret them as spaces.? ?That's not a fix,
    that's a workaround!?

    2. A procedure to be employed by the user in order to do what some
    currently non-working feature should do. Hypothetical example: ?Using
    META-F7 crashes the 4.43 build of Weemax, but as a workaround you can
    type CTRL-R, then SHIFT-F5, and delete the remaining cruft by hand.?


The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):

workaround

    A temporary kluge used to bypass, mask
   or otherwise avoid a bug or misfeature in some system.
   Customers often find themselves living with workarounds for
   long periods of time rather than getting a bug fix.

   [Jargon File]

   (1998-06-25)