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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,.  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.

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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

Taken along with the recent weak reading on July job gains, these indicators could be pointing to a soft patch for the American consumer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

At the entrance of a little hole in the muddy river bank she points to a patch of dark brown in the lighter coloured mud.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

You find him on the official state seal, and if you get nabbed speeding on the freeway, there he is, embroidered on the CHP officer’s uniform patch.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

A similar debut patch rookie card featuring Major League Baseball pitcher Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates sold for $1.1 million last year.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

We saw Nollie even before our train came to a stop in Amsterdam—her bright blue sweater like a patch of blue sky in the big dark shed.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

The woman was pronounced dead at Mission Hospital, according to Patch.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 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 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

And what I didn’t say was that staying in this house alone at night with Patch was the worst thing I could think of and I couldn’t do that to Celia.

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

Fortunately the problem has not been as serious as in some areas, but Bobi has been regularly responding to "a few patches of grass going up on fire and just spreading very fast".

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Wooden baskets swinging behind them, the Flemings and Schifferles darted between trees, dug through patches of ivy and peered beneath shrubs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

The president then turned his attention to Washington’s federal parks, complaining about patches of dead grass and offering advice about how they should be maintained.

From Salon ● Aug. 9, 2026

Backed up by around a dozen volunteers, a small team of firefighters water-lanced the last patches of smoking earth nearby.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

Off to the right of the bridge were patches of earth and rocks where the wind had swept the snow clean.

From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell

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

The Liberal Party leader said both parties had patched up with an agreement that neither party could overturn decisions taken by the coalition's joint "shadow cabinet" of senior lawmakers.

From Barron's ● Feb. 8, 2026

A patched couch sat in front of the stove.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

That’s where the group’s volunteers work in concert with Southern California Gas crews patching the scores of potholes created by extreme nature, not by radial tires.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

The move is aimed at patching up a looming funding gap in the country’s public healthcare system.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

Northumberland County Council said it was "currently carrying out a mixture of structural patching works and safety related repairs to ensure the road is brought back into an acceptable and safe condition".

From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2026

"We need as many hands on our body, patching all the wounds," she said.

From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026

One spring morning I was at work in my tent repairing equipment, patching my clothes, and studying maps when a voice said, “General, may I visit you in your tent, please?”

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston

Related Words

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