noun, adjective
noun an action that is useful or necessary for a particular purpose, but not always fair or right:
The disease was controlled by the simple expedient of not allowing anyone to leave the city.
adjective [notusuallybeforenoun] (of an action) useful or necessary for a particular purpose, but not always fair or right:
The government has clearly decided that a cut in interest rates would be politically expedient.
expediency noun [U]:
He acted out of expediency, not principle.
