purple patch

British

noun

Also called: purple passage. a section in a piece of writing characterized by rich, fanciful, or ornate language
slang a period of success, good fortune, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

There has been a significant turnover of personnel since England's white-ball purple patch, during which they claimed the 2019 50-over World Cup and the 2022 T20 crowns.

From Barron's • Feb. 3, 2026

But for Farke, this purple patch comes as no surprise, and the Leeds boss reiterated that Calvert-Lewin is "one of the best strikers" in the Premier League.

From BBC • Dec. 28, 2025

But that prompted a purple patch of eight goals in eight games, with an injury-interrupted first season at the club ending with 16 goals in 43 matches.

From BBC • Mar. 3, 2025

Beyond that, the race in this purple patch of a deep-blue state will address two broader questions.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 13, 2024

No purple patch was ever more pitifully out of place.

From A Study of Shakespeare by Gosse, Edmund

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023