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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,.  Also called 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

On average, about 1 million bacteria live on every patch of skin roughly the size of a pencil eraser.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026

You never know when you might need to patch up a cut, disinfect a wound, or even help an injured traveler on the side of the road.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

DEF CON Franklin matched volunteer white-hat hackers with small water utilities across the country, helping them patch holes and advising them on basic security hygiene.

From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026

"But it was thanks to the pet food bank I was able to keep my dogs and we got through that sticky patch and got back on our feet," Bye added.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Danny felt a sharp thrill in his belly as the plane went through a patch of clouds.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

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 technology used to manufacture the implant is exclusively licensed to Regenerative Patch Technologies by the University of Southern California, the California Institute of Technology and the University of California Santa Barbara.

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

He had announced that the haunt would be moving to a new Riverside location, the Lake Perris Fairgrounds, where it would operate in tandem with the Perris Pumpkin Patch.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2025

I reached out, and Patch moved closer in his sleep.

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

"The sheets I laid, the quilts I covered, and the clothes I wore were all covered with piles of patches," said Xu.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

Their tattered remnants, barely held together with patches and stitching, are poignant metaphors for a battered will that keeps fighting even as protections wear thin.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

If characteristic patches of preserved collagen can be recognized in those older images, researchers may already have a large archive of fossils worth examining with newer protein analysis techniques.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

Wooden baskets swinging behind them, the Flemings and Schifferles darted between trees, dug through patches of ivy and peered beneath shrubs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

The man’s face was thin and pale, with raw, weather-scarred patches on his cheeks.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

Flock has since patched the security vulnerabilities Jordan found in new cameras, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

He then instructed me to pull back into the driveway and patched the tire for me on the spot.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

A recent visit revealed peeling paint on the hotel’s facade, worn upholstery on some chairs and a few carpets that had been patched unevenly.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

Yet by the next day reporters were working from home; broken glass was replaced; laptops sourced; the sixth-floor newsroom patched up.

From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026

We took him to Doc Murphy and he patched him up.”

From "Shiloh" by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

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

But not all companies have access to those models, and patching them once they are discovered can take time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 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

We were surprised to see how easily they got her up, but of course there weren’t any holes in the hull or other damage that needed patching.

From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen

Related Words

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