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.
a piece of material used to cover or protect a wound, an injured part, etc..
a patch over the eye.
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.
any of the pieces of cloth sewed together to form patchwork.
a small piece, scrap, or area of anything.
a patch of ice on the road.
a piece or tract of land; plot.
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.
Military. a cloth emblem worn on the upper uniform sleeve to identify the military unit of the wearer.
a small organizational or affiliational emblem of cloth sewn to one's jacket, shirt, cap, etc.
a connection or hookup, as between radio circuits or telephone lines.
The patch allowed shut-ins to hear the game by telephone.
a period of time characterized by some quality.
he was going through a rough patch.
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.
to mend, cover, or strengthen with or as if with a patch or patches.
to repair or restore, especially in a hasty or makeshift way (usually followed byup ).
to make by joining patches or pieces together.
to patch a quilt.
to settle or smooth over (a quarrel, difference, etc.) (often followed byup ).
They patched up their quarrel before the company arrived.
(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.
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.
a piece of material used to mend a garment or to make patchwork, a sewn-on pocket, etc
( as modifier )
a patch pocket
a small piece, area, expanse, etc
a small plot of land
its produce
a patch of cabbages
a district for which particular officials, such as social workers or policemen, have responsibility
he's a problem that's on your patch, John
pathol any discoloured area on the skin, mucous membranes, etc, usually being one sign of a specific disorder
med
a protective covering for an injured eye
any protective dressing
an imitation beauty spot, esp one made of black or coloured silk, worn by both sexes, esp in the 18th century
Also called: flash. an identifying piece of fabric worn on the shoulder of a uniform, on a vehicle, etc
a small contrasting section or stretch
a patch of cloud in the blue sky
a scrap; remnant
computing a small set of instructions to correct or improve a computer program
informal the insignia of a motorcycle club or gang
a difficult or troubled time
informal not nearly as good as
to mend or supply (a garment, etc) with a patch or patches
to put together or produce with patches
(of material) to serve as a patch to
(often foll by up) to mend hurriedly or in a makeshift way
(often foll by up) to make (up) or settle (a quarrel)
to connect (electric circuits) together temporarily by means of a patch board
(usually foll by through) to connect (a telephone call) by means of a patch board
computing to correct or improve (a program) by adding a small set of instructions
A temporary, removable electronic connection, as one between two components in a communications system.
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.
See mend.
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English pacche, patche, pachche; of uncertain origin; perhaps an alteration of Middle French pece, pieche, piece piece ( def. )
First recorded in 1540–50; of uncertain origin; perhaps from southern Italian dialect paccio ( Italian pazzo) “fool”
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.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Workers excavated a 3-by 4-foot area to find the source of the leak and will begin welding a patch at the leak site on Thursday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Monitors have said the rocket appeared to land in a patch of ocean somewhere between Solomon Islands, Nauru and Tuvalu.
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
Progressive roared back from a rough patch after the pandemic, becoming the nation’s largest personal auto insurer this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
At this time, only Asa has unlocked the power to break and essentially died to do so, which partly explains her rakish eye patch.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
A patch of normalcy in the midst of misery, the way a flower can grow in cracked asphalt.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
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
The last veteran of the trenches was Harry Patch, who died in 2009 at the age of 111.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2025
I was so glad to be there, so glad Patch and I weren’t alone, that I sank down on the floor in front of her hearth.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
They may have been looking for patches or already written exploit techniques, said Zhun Wang, a University of California, Berkeley Ph.D. student who is one of the authors of ExploitGym.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
More high-quality footage is needed, particularly clear views of dorsal fins and eye patches, which can be used to identify individual animals.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 23, 2026
Lee Blackett's attack, which did trouble South Africa in patches, was at its free-flowing best against Fiji, but arguably looked most impressive in the first half against Argentina.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
Toward the back, the walls filled with displays of patches from first-responder agencies worldwide — and in the seats beneath those patches, often, sat police and firefighters, whose company Fanara prized.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Spots or patches often form symmetrical patterns on the body, so a person with vitiligo on her right arm is likely to have it in roughly the same place on her left.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
He patched together other income, too, selling self-designed zombie-themed T-shirts, and working for the job board Jobcase, advising job seekers with criminal records.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 21, 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
He has been inundated with customers wanting to have old bikes patched up.
From Barron's ● Feb. 15, 2026
Until then, all kinds of designs were patched together from silk, linen, wool or “anything at hand.”
From Salon ● Jan. 3, 2026
He was dressed in a patched set of pants and a loose shirt.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
As frontier models automate vulnerability discovery at machine scale, security chiefs scramble to automate patching before hackers weaponize flaws.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
Last month, state cybersecurity chiefs warned lawmakers that AI-enabled discovery tools create unsustainable pressure on state networks as patching windows shrink to near zero.
From The Wall Street Journal ● 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
Back at the farm, Dicey took Sammy to the barn to begin patching, while James and Maybeth rode their bikes up and down the driveway.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
