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.
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
The fruits of Tahnoon’s push are visible in the form of a massive construction site on a sandy patch of land miles from central Abu Dhabi, where thousands of laborers are working day and night.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 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
The small patch of dirt encircling Carmen Silverio Guardado’s home bears fruit — lots of it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Nine tossed the last of his satchels into the tree hollow and heaved a patch of moss over the hole.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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 technology used to manufacture the implant is exclusively licensed to Regenerative Patch Technologies by the University of Southern California, the California Institute of Technology and the University of California Santa Barbara.
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
But instead of Da, Patch had come along in back of me, the bottom of his skirt dragging.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
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
Around the Colosseum, patches of shade were few and far between.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
Municipal Softball League: The Feeneys’ jerseys featured black patches embroidered with “JBK” for Jamie Bailey Krug, the first of the original founders to make it back to home base in the sky.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
There were little patches of light where the grates were, but aside from that, it was a long, dark, narrow tunnel, just wide enough for Frank and Joe to crawl in.
From "Hopping Mad (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #4)" by Franklin W. Dixon
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
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
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
Until then, all kinds of designs were patched together from silk, linen, wool or “anything at hand.”
From Salon ● Jan. 3, 2026
While I patched the inner tube, Miss Love leaned against the hood of the car, looking like she might faint.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
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
"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
The vast majority were rated as amber, meaning they were patching up roads and had preventative measures in place but there was still room for improvement.
From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2026
Now, it was torn and dirty, but I kept patching it.
From "Lost Boy, Lost Girl" by John Bul Dau
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.
