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patch1

[pach]
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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, trans·der·mal 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 cabbage patch; a bean patch.
  8. beauty spot(def 1).
  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)
  1. to mend, cover, or strengthen with or as if with a patch or patches.
  2. to repair or restore, especially in a hasty or makeshift way (usually followed by up).
  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 by up): 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.): The radio show was patched through to the ship. Patch me through to the mainland.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to make a connection between radio circuits, telephone lines, etc. (often followed by in or into): We patched into the ship-to-shore conversation.
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Origin of patch1

1350–1400; Middle English pacche; perhaps akin to Old Provençal pedas piece to cover a hole < Vulgar Latin *pedaceum literally, something measured; compare Medieval Latin pedāre to measure in feet; see -ped
Related formspatch·a·ble, adjectivepatch·er, nounpatch·less, adjectiveun·patched, adjectivewell-patched, adjective

Synonyms

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14. fix. See mend.

Antonyms

14. break.

patch2

[pach]
noun
  1. a clown, fool, or booby.
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Origin of patch2

1540–50; perhaps < Italian pazzo fool

Patch

[pach]
noun
  1. Alexander Mc·Car·rell [muh-kar-uh l] /məˈkær əl/, 1889–1945, U.S. World War II general.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

plot, land, stretch, chunk, strip, lot, tract, bit, ground, sew, repair, rebuild, revamp, reinforce, reconstruct, cobble, fix, shred, hunk, blob

Examples from the Web for patch

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • There was Patch after was drowned out of a curagh that turned over.

  • I see that he has a patch over his eye, even as he had at Poictiers.

    The White Company

    Arthur Conan Doyle

  • By and by, they stood just outside the patch of light that fell from one of the windows.

  • I s'pose you're sorry some of us didn't get all cut up and bruised, so you could patch us up.

  • I called my sketch "A Patch of Light," and sent it to a magazine.

    The Harbor

    Ernest Poole

British Dictionary definitions for patch

patch

noun
    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
    1. a small plot of land
    2. its producea patch of cabbages
  4. a district for which particular officials, such as social workers or policemen, have responsibilityhe'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 US an identifying piece of fabric worn on the shoulder of a uniform, on a vehicle, etc
  9. a small contrasting section or stretcha 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. Australian informal the insignia of a motorcycle club or gang
  13. a bad patch a difficult or troubled time
  14. not a patch on informal not nearly as good as
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verb (tr)
  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
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Derived Formspatchable, adjectivepatcher, noun

Word Origin

C16 pacche, perhaps from French pieche piece
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for patch

n.1

"piece of cloth used to mend another material," late 14c., of obscure origin, perhaps a variant of pece, pieche, from Old North French pieche (see piece (n.)), or from an unrecorded Old English word (but Old English had claðflyhte "a patch"). Phrase not a patch on "nowhere near as good as" is from 1860.

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n.2

"fool, clown," 1540s, perhaps from Italian pazzo "fool," of unknown origin. Possibly from Old High German barzjan "to rave" [Klein]. But Buck says pazzo is originally euphemistic, and from Latin patiens "suffering," in medical use, "the patient." Form perhaps influenced by folk etymology derivation from patch (n.1), on notion of a fool's patched garb.

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v.

mid-15c., from patch (n.1). Electronics sense of "to connect temporarily" is attested from 1923. Related: Patched; patching.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
patch in Medicine

patch

(păch)
n.
  1. A small circumscribed area differing from the surrounding surface.
  2. A dressing or covering applied to protect a wound or sore.
  3. A transdermal patch.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
patch in Science

patch

[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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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.