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• patch-up
  patch-up

  noun

  an act or instance of patching or repair.
• patch up
  patch up

  Mend or repair, make whole. For example, He managed to patch up the lawn mower so it's running, or John cut his hand badly, but they patched him up in the emergency room, or Mike and Molly have patched up their differences. This term alludes to mending something by putting patches of material on it. [Second half of 1500s]

patch-up

American  

[pach-uhp] / ˈpætʃˌʌp /

noun

1. an act or instance of patching or repair.

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adjective

1. done by patching or fixing.

   a quick patch-up job.

patch up Idioms  

1. Mend or repair, make whole. For example, He managed to patch up the lawn mower so it's running, or John cut his hand badly, but they patched him up in the emergency room, or Mike and Molly have patched up their differences. This term alludes to mending something by putting patches of material on it. [Second half of 1500s]

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Etymology

Origin of patch-up

First recorded in 1900–05; noun, adj. use of verb phrase patch up

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

patch-up patch up

This otherwise unremarkable pothole, which emerged from the crumbling ruins of a previous patch-up job, pre-dates that initiative, but how long would it take to be noticed, reported and fixed?

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

So here’s what I’m thinking: Before you skulk to her bedside for an insincere patch-up job, talk to your brother.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 28, 2022

We'll be radioactive debris long before this proposed patch-up job would come along.

From New York Times ● Jul. 25, 2016

Prediction : 2-2 Somehow, this patch-up New York team keeps winning.

From The Guardian ● May 18, 2012

Now all law, all social order, all custom, is a patch-up and a concession to this separating passion of self-insistence.

From The Passionate Friends by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)

You could patch up the car, which could make it an unreliable jalopy that breaks down — leading to you having to pour more money into fixing it.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026

Spectators are left exasperated while staff work to patch up the old machines, connected by fraying electrical wires.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026

The question that’s been glossed over, however, is whether the ballroom would really patch up security for the president.

From Salon ● May 1, 2026

Colabianchi, the theater’s superintendent, said he hopes Venezi can meet the orchestra and patch up their differences before she takes up her baton in the fall.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026

We could patch up that broken trace for pulling an ordinary load.

From "Old Yeller" by Fred Gipson