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• patch
  patch

  noun

  a small piece of material used to mend a tear or break, to cover a hole, or to strengthen a weak place.
• Patch
  Patch

  noun

  Alexander McCarrell 1889–1945, U.S. World War II general.

patch

¹ American  

[pach] / pætʃ /

noun

1. a small piece of material used to mend a tear or break, to cover a hole, or to strengthen a weak place.

   patches at the elbows of a sports jacket.

2. a piece of material used to cover or protect a wound, an injured part, etc..

   a patch over the eye.

3. Also called skin patch, transdermal patch. an adhesive patch that applies to the skin and gradually delivers drugs or medication to the user.

   using a nicotine patch to try to quit smoking.

4. any of the pieces of cloth sewed together to form patchwork.

5. a small piece, scrap, or area of anything.

   a patch of ice on the road.

6. a piece or tract of land; plot.

7. a small field, plot, or garden, especially one in which a specific type of plant grows or is cultivated: a bean patch.

   a cabbage patch;

   a bean patch.

8. beauty spot.

9. Military. a cloth emblem worn on the upper uniform sleeve to identify the military unit of the wearer.

10. a small organizational or affiliational emblem of cloth sewn to one's jacket, shirt, cap, etc.

11. a connection or hookup, as between radio circuits or telephone lines.

    The patch allowed shut-ins to hear the game by telephone.

12. a period of time characterized by some quality.

    he was going through a rough patch.

13. Computers. a small piece of code designed to be inserted into an executable program in order to fix errors in or update the program or its supporting data.

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verb (used with object)

• patches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• patched,
  past participle,  past
• patching
  present participle

1. to mend, cover, or strengthen with or as if with a patch or patches.

   Synonyms:

   fix

   Antonyms:

   break

2. to repair or restore, especially in a hasty or makeshift way (usually followed byup ).

3. to make by joining patches or pieces together.

   to patch a quilt.

4. to settle or smooth over (a quarrel, difference, etc.) (often followed byup ).

   They patched up their quarrel before the company arrived.

5. (especially in radio and telephone communications) to connect or hook up (circuits, programs, conversations, etc.) (often followed by through, into, etc.): Patch me through to the mainland.

   The radio show was patched through to the ship.

   Patch me through to the mainland.

6. to update (a software program) by downloading and installing a small piece of code in order to fix errors in or update a program or its supporting data.

   You may need to manually patch the game to the latest version.

verb (used without object)

• patches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• patched,
  past participle,  past
• patching
  present participle

1. to make a connection between radio circuits, telephone lines, etc. (often followed by in orinto ).

   We patched into the ship-to-shore conversation.

patch ² American  

[pach] / pætʃ /

noun

1. a clown, fool, or booby.

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Patch ³ American  

[pach] / pætʃ /

noun

1. Alexander McCarrell 1889–1945, U.S. World War II general.

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patch British  

/ pætʃ /

noun

1. 1. a piece of material used to mend a garment or to make patchwork, a sewn-on pocket, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a patch pocket

2. a small piece, area, expanse, etc

3. 1. a small plot of land

   2. its produce

      a patch of cabbages

4. a district for which particular officials, such as social workers or policemen, have responsibility

   he's a problem that's on your patch, John

5. pathol any discoloured area on the skin, mucous membranes, etc, usually being one sign of a specific disorder

6. med

   1. a protective covering for an injured eye

   2. any protective dressing

7. an imitation beauty spot, esp one made of black or coloured silk, worn by both sexes, esp in the 18th century

8. Also called: flash. an identifying piece of fabric worn on the shoulder of a uniform, on a vehicle, etc

9. a small contrasting section or stretch

   a patch of cloud in the blue sky

10. a scrap; remnant

11. computing a small set of instructions to correct or improve a computer program

12. informal the insignia of a motorcycle club or gang

13. a difficult or troubled time

14. informal not nearly as good as

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verb

1. to mend or supply (a garment, etc) with a patch or patches

2. to put together or produce with patches

3. (of material) to serve as a patch to

4. (often foll by up) to mend hurriedly or in a makeshift way

5. (often foll by up) to make (up) or settle (a quarrel)

6. to connect (electric circuits) together temporarily by means of a patch board

7. (usually foll by through) to connect (a telephone call) by means of a patch board

8. computing to correct or improve (a program) by adding a small set of instructions

patch Scientific  

/ păch /

1. A temporary, removable electronic connection, as one between two components in a communications system.

2. A piece of code added to software in order to fix a bug, especially as a temporary correction between two versions of the same software.

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Synonym Usage

See mend.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• patcher
  noun
• patchable
  adjective
• patchless
  adjective
• unpatched
  adjective
• well-patched
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• patching
  present
• patched
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• patch
  simple
• patches
  simple
• have patched
  perfect
• has patched
  perfect
• am patching
  progressive
• are patching
  progressive
• is patching
  progressive
• have been patching
  perfect progressive
• has been patching
  perfect progressive

Past

• patched
  simple
• had patched
  perfect
• was patching
  progressive
• were patching
  progressive
• had been patching
  perfect progressive

Future

• will patch
  simple
• will have patched
  perfect
• will be patching
  progressive
• will have been patching
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of patch¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English pacche, patche, pachche; of uncertain origin; perhaps an alteration of Middle French pece, pieche, piece piece ( def. )

Origin of patch²

First recorded in 1540–50; of uncertain origin; perhaps from southern Italian dialect paccio ( Italian pazzo) “fool”

Explanation

When you patch something, you repair it, like when you patch a hole in the knee of your favorite jeans or when road crews use asphalt to patch a pothole in the street. The verb patch describes fixing by filling in a weak spot or by replacing missing material. You might patch a wall, for example, to fill in a hole before you paint it, or even “patch things up” after a disagreement with a friend. As a noun, patch describes a period of time, like a "rough patch;" the material used for fixing, like the patch you sew over a hole in fabric; or even a small piece of land, like a garden patch.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

patch Patch patches patched patching

Private equity is going through a rough patch.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Four hundred years after monks transformed a patch of marshlands in northwest Italy into rice fields, farmer Alice Cerutti has restored a third to their natural state, prioritising biodiversity over crop yield.

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

Mama Lifa and her child Lifa were found in a patch of acacia trees entirely surrounded by oil palm plantations.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

A bright, unusual patch of rock in southern Madagascar has a surprising connection to the Moon.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

Seabirds from all around were drawn to a frothy, fishy patch of ocean.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown

Appeared in the September 11, 2026, print edition as 'Crypto Billionaire Sets Sights on Venezuela’s Oil Patch'.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

I ask if Sour Patch Kids are gluten-free, and I get a warning about additives in the ingredient list.

From Slate ● May 6, 2026

The bioengineered RPE retinal implant is produced by Regenerative Patch Technologies LLC, a clinical-stage company focused on developing stem cell-based implants for retinal diseases.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 9, 2026

Short of actually being made in the ’80s, this film was engineered in a lab to appeal to Gen X-ers who are nostalgic for Casio watches and Cabbage Patch Kids.

From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2025

I stood up, bent because of the wind, shivering, listening to Patch crying.

From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff

Pimple patches containing a gel called hydrocolloid can absorb fluids from oozing pimples and stop you from picking at them.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

Thursday will start off chilly with mist and fog patches along with frost in places.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

More importantly, scientists can calculate how large those temperature patches should appear.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026

Her bar is festooned with U.S. military patches and dollar bills.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

As for Cassiopeia, she had knitted a collection of eye patches for playing at pirates, and a holster to fit a toy dagger that Beowulf had gnawed for her out of a fallen tree branch.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

I can still picture the tram driver who patched together my grandmother’s clunker and the sign maker lettering Jesus’ words along the road.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Most Baiga houses have low mud walls, rough timber and bamboo, and tiled or thatched roofs patched with plastic against the rain.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

It said it has now patched the software bugs responsible for the mistakes.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley said the company has patched security vulnerabilities and introduced new safeguards to prevent misuse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

As soon as one pilot returned from a mission, the ground crew quickly reloaded its guns, refueled it, patched up any damage, and another pilot would take off in it.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

That’s where the group’s volunteers work in concert with Southern California Gas crews patching the scores of potholes created by extreme nature, not by radial tires.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

Workers are now patching up the roof to protect the building from rain, the sound of their hammering mixing with that of ringing bells from a tower nearby.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

The government says the aim of these new measures is to encourage full road resurfacing rather than short-term patching.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

"We need as many hands on our body, patching all the wounds," she said.

From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026

"Even if it means patching things up between her and the likes of you."

From "The Rock and the River" by Kekla Magoon

Related Words

• bit
• chunk
• ground
• land
• lot
• plot
• stretch
• strip
• tract