patch

¹

[ pach ]

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,. 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 ( def 1 ).
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 by up ).
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 by up ):

   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 or into ):

   We patched into the ship-to-shore conversation.

patch

²

[ pach ]

noun

1. a clown, fool, or booby.

Patch

³

[ pach ]

noun

1. Alexander Mc·Car·rell [m, uh, -, kar, -, uh, l], 1889–1945, U.S. World War II general.

patch

/ 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 calledflash 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 bad patch
    a difficult or troubled time
14. not a patch on 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

/ 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.

Derived Forms

• ˈpatchable, adjective
• ˈpatcher, noun

Other Words From

• patch·a·ble adjective
• patch·er noun
• patch·less adjective
• un·patched adjective
• well-patched adjective

Word History and Origins

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of patch¹

C16 pacche, perhaps from French pieche piece

Synonym Study

See mend.

Example Sentences

In higher-latitude regions, such as the Tasman Sea, relief tended to be much closer, within a few tens of kilometers of the overheated patch, the researchers found.

From Science News

The officers’ uniforms bear a large patch that says “police,” but they aren’t police.

From FiveThirtyEight

Microraptor’s shorter feathers appear in just a small patch on one of the dinosaur’s four wings — suggesting that the dinosaur molted sequentially, too, bird ecologist Yosef Kiat at the University of Haifa in Israel and colleagues report.

From Science News

Other times, they arranged patches of spikes in different directions.

From Science News For Students

Broken pipes and pumps are fixed in patches when money comes through from both federal governments or via the North American Development Bank.

From Voice of San Diego

Kocurek now works 12-hour shifts as a night watchman guarding the entrance to a drilling patch.

From The Daily Beast

Annie Leibovitz had hit a pretty rough patch in life by 2009.

From The Daily Beast

But the illusions of peace and tranquility soon crumble around them like a patch of freshly laid snow.

From The Daily Beast

There was a patch of congealed blood behind his head: “Except for the blood…the dead man looked immaculate.”

From The Daily Beast

A powder-blue blazer with a patch reading “All-Time All-American” hung in a clear plastic bag from the closet doorknob.

From The Daily Beast

A few, very few, little dots had run back over that green patch—the others had passed down into the world of darkness.

From Project Gutenberg

In a minute Bruce was back with his hat full of water from the creek that whimpered just beyond the willow patch.

From Project Gutenberg

The patch of soft green that I knew for the cottonwoods Rutter had spoken of drew my roving gaze whether I would or no.

From Project Gutenberg

A patch of light fell clear on the side of the trap, and on Longcluse's ungloved hand as he leaned on it.

From Project Gutenberg

The male Black Redstart has also a white patch on the wing caused by the pale, nearly white, margins of the feathers.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cobble
• rebuild
• reconstruct
• reinforce
• repair
• revamp
• sew