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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

There is simply a small patch of negative space where something automatic used to happen.

From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026

It will make Centalion a major player in the Haynesville basin, a prolific gas patch straddling Texas and Louisiana.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

But Warrington snuck past Leeds Rhinos, and Wakefield Trinity then stunned the whole of rugby league as they demolished Wigan on the Warriors' own patch to make it to Old Trafford.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

But the universe outside our observable patch could be vastly larger.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 28, 2026

Alexander ripped off his eye patch and turned his spyglass to the nursery window.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

A Friday morning rush hour of intense bidding sent the one-of-one Cooper Flagg Topps Rookie Debut Patch Card skyrocketing at auction, selling for $8.04 million.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

Nerds, Nutter Butters and Sour Patch Kids are turning up in sweet collaborations on restaurant menus.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 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 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

Celia looked at Patch in the bed, then closed her eyes.

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

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

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

Where tall canopy trees were retained or the cleared patches were small, common understory species such as acacia dominated.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026

As a result, its surface is uneven, with holes, patches and the three-dimensional effects of the stitching.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

Earlier rough patches for financials in 2024 and 2025 were quickly reversed, data show.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

We catch glimpses of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which is also shrouded in patches of mist.

From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day

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

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 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

They plan to release details of their attack once Apple has patched the underlying issues.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026

They are patched through to them from payphones in Evin prison via the Foreign Office, which has described their incarceration as "appalling" and "unjustifiable".

From BBC ● May 1, 2026

As bad as it looked, there in the Albemarle, I still think we could have patched it up somehow.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

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

"But the reality is, for most local authorities, they have to do the patching because of constraints on their funding."

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

Still, some fear the current condition of L.A.’s streets may worsen despite the efforts of city crews, as Los Angeles has been prioritizing patching roads over repaving them in their entirety lately.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2026

We kids tried patching the roof on our own with tar paper, tinfoil, wood, and Elmer’s glue, but no matter what we did, the water found its way through.

From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

Related Words

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