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.

---

verb (used with object)

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)

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.

---

Patch ³ American  

[pach] / pætʃ /

noun

1. Alexander McCarrell 1889–1945, U.S. World War II general.

---

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

---

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.

---

Related Words

See mend.

Other Word Forms

• patchable adjective
• patcher noun
• patchless adjective
• unpatched adjective
• well-patched adjective

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 patch¹

First recorded in 1540–50; of uncertain origin; perhaps from southern Italian dialect paccio ( Italian pazzo) “fool”

Example Sentences

But the family pumpkin patch and Christmas tree business remained a constant.

From Los Angeles Times

Before the fire, she did not have a pumpkin patch.

From Los Angeles Times

Down the winding, two-lane roads that connect communities, a pastor organizes bottled-water drives for neighbors whose tap water is undrinkable, while the local utility patches together funding for long-term solutions.

From The Wall Street Journal

While gold miner stocks have outdistanced gold during the first 50 weeks of the year, they were hit hard when gold hit a rough patch this fall.

From Barron's

The difficulty is that these and other summaries are often obscured by patches bordering on irrelevance.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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