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
1 American
[pach]
/ pætʃ /
noun
-
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.
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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.
verb (used with object)
-
patches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
patched,
past participle, past
-
patching
present participle
-
to mend, cover, or strengthen with or as if with a patch or patches.
- Synonyms:
- fix
- Antonyms:
- break
-
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.
verb (used without object)
-
patches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
patched,
past participle, past
-
patching
present participle
patch
2
American
[pach]
/ pætʃ /
noun
Patch
3
American
[pach]
/ pætʃ /
noun
patch
British
/ pætʃ /
noun
-
-
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
verb
-
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
patch
Scientific
/ păch /
-
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.
Synonym Usage
See mend.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
patchsimple
-
patchessimple
-
have patchedperfect
-
has patchedperfect
-
am patchingprogressive
-
are patchingprogressive
-
is patchingprogressive
-
have been patchingperfect progressive
-
has been patchingperfect progressive
Past
-
patchedsimple
-
had patchedperfect
-
was patchingprogressive
-
were patchingprogressive
-
had been patchingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing patch
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 2
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The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words
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The ACT Reading Test: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 5
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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.
See Examples For:
Whipps said Beijing had "threatened and really disrespected" the region with the test of the rocket, which monitors said appeared to land in a patch of ocean somewhere between Solomon Islands, Nauru and Tuvalu.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
Across the lot in an unused patch of pavement, pops of bright orange and yellow reach skyward toward the imposing barbed wire that’s laced atop metal security bars.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
But this isn’t just a deserted patch of sand.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026
The video, taken by boaters, shows a forested patch of land that appeared to be bobbing in the water.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
Aunt Kitty must have been on her hands and knees in the dirty cellar, because a big patch of mud was smeared across the lower part of her gown.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
Nerds, Nutter Butters and Sour Patch Kids are turning up in sweet collaborations on restaurant menus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 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 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
“We’ll have food for you and your mother, for Anna, and Patch, and we’ll hold ourselves over until we plant again, or until my da comes back.”
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
Their tattered remnants, barely held together with patches and stitching, are poignant metaphors for a battered will that keeps fighting even as protections wear thin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
"The sheets I laid, the quilts I covered, and the clothes I wore were all covered with piles of patches," said Xu.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
The idea is to let firefighters reach areas that hadn’t been checked by bomb-disposal teams so they can cut firebreaks and douse strategic patches of land to protect key areas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
If characteristic patches of preserved collagen can be recognized in those older images, researchers may already have a large archive of fossils worth examining with newer protein analysis techniques.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026
He watched as his body came back in patches.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
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
"The second thing is that even with existing weaknesses that we know about, but organisations might not have patched against, might not be well defended against, it's just a really good hacker," he said.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 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
A man with a spongy face, a bushel of white hair, and a patched tweed jacket grumbles at Jakob from the bar.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
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
The government says the aim of these new measures is to encourage full road resurfacing rather than short-term patching.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
"We need as many hands on our body, patching all the wounds," she said.
From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026
It was done, but his heart sank as he saw how crude the patching looked.
From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
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.
