A workaround is a different way of getting something done when the proper way is not working. You have not fixed the real problem — you have gone around it. That is the whole idea in the word: the trouble is still there, and you have found a path past it. It is one word, a noun, and you usually find a workaround, use a workaround, or have one for a particular problem. It started in computing and is still most at home there: if a program crashes when you print directly, the workaround is to save as PDF and print that. Software companies openly publish workarounds while they prepare a real fix. But it has spread far beyond computers — people talk about a workaround for a rule, for a broken lift, for a supplier who cannot deliver. The word usually carries a small note of "this is not ideal," and often "this is temporary," though plenty of workarounds quietly become permanent. It is neutral to slightly positive: it praises cleverness while admitting something is still broken. Note the space matters — as two words, work around is a verb: we'll work around the problem.