# patch

Pronunciation: say "PACH" /pæt͡ʃ/

## Noun

1. A piece of cloth or similar material fixed onto a garment to repair or strengthen it, often covering a hole in worn clothing.
   - Simple: A small piece of cloth sewn onto clothes to cover a hole or make them stronger.
   - _She ironed a patch onto the torn knee of her son's pants._
   - _The tailor stitched several patches across the worn fabric._
2. A small area of land or ground, especially a plot set aside for a particular use.
   - Simple: A small piece of ground or land, often used for growing things.
   - _She grew tomatoes in a sunny patch near the fence._
   - _The garden had several patches reserved for herbs._
3. A small, distinct part of something (in place, time, or size) that contrasts with or differs from the rest.
   - Simple: A small part of something that stands out as different from what surrounds it.
   - _A patch of blue sky appeared between the clouds._
   - _The team went through a rough patch midway through the season._
4. A small piece of material used to repair damage or close a hole or break in something such as a roof or pot.
   - Simple: A small piece of material used to fix a hole or broken spot in something.
   - _A patch of sheet metal sealed the rusted spot on the boiler._
   - _The roofer applied several patches to stop the leaks._
5. A piece of code or data that replaces part of an existing program or file, typically to fix bugs or security flaws.
   - Simple: A small set of computer data that changes part of a file or program.
   - _Developers shipped a patch that replaced the corrupted module._
   - _The security team rolled out patches to several affected servers._
8. A cover worn over a damaged or injured eye to protect it.
   - Simple: A small cover worn over a hurt or injured eye.
   - _The ophthalmologist fitted a patch over the child's stronger eye to strengthen the other._
   - _He wore a patch for weeks while the cornea healed._
9. An adhesive piece of material containing a drug that is worn on the skin and slowly absorbed over time.
   - Simple: A sticky piece of material that holds medicine and slowly sends it into the skin.
   - _He wears a patch on his arm to curb his nicotine cravings._
   - _The clinic switched her from daily pills to a patch worn on the hip._
11. A piece of material used to repair something only for a short time, until a proper, lasting repair can be made.
   - Simple: A piece used to fix something for a short time until a real repair can be done.
   - _A quick patch kept the hose working until the new one arrived._
   - _Temporary patches held the leaking dam until repairs began._
13. A piece of material used to cover and protect a wound.
   - Simple: A piece of material placed over a wound to cover it.
   - _The medic pressed a sterile patch over the gash to stop the bleeding._
   - _Doctors covered the burn with a soft patch to keep it clean._
14. The local area or field that someone is responsible for in their work.
   - Simple: The area or part of work that one person is in charge of.
   - _The new manager wanted to learn every client on his patch._
   - _Reporters guard their patch jealously against rival journalists._
15. A length of cable run between two electrical devices to connect them.
   - Simple: A short cable used to connect two pieces of electrical equipment.
   - _The engineer ran a patch between the amplifier and the speaker cabinet._
   - _She labeled all the patches running into the back of the rack._
18. A stored sound configuration on a synthesizer, named for the patch cables once used to set it up.
   - Simple: A saved sound setting on an electronic music keyboard or synthesizer.
   - _The producer layered three synth patches to build the track's lead sound._
   - _Load the brass patch before the chorus comes in._
22. A tiny piece of black silk that seventeenth- and eighteenth-century women stuck to the face or throat as a false beauty mark to set off their complexion.
   - Simple: A small piece of black silk worn on the face long ago to make the skin look fairer.
   - _The duchess fixed a small patch beside her eye before the ball._
   - _Court ladies arranged their patches to draw the gaze toward a smile._
23. A small piece of material pushed by hand through a gun barrel to clean it.
   - Simple: A small piece of cloth pushed through a gun barrel to clean it.
   - _She ran a fresh patch down the bore until it came out clean._
   - _Soldiers carried spare patches for cleaning their rifles in the field._
24. A piece of greased cloth or leather wrapped around a rifle ball so it fits snugly in the bore.
   - Simple: A piece of greased cloth or leather wrapped around a rifle ball to make it fit the barrel.
   - _She centered a greased patch over the muzzle and seated the ball on top._
   - _Worn patches let the ball slip loose and ruined their accuracy._
25. A block placed on the muzzle of a gun to offset the effect of dispart in sighting.
   - Simple: A small block placed on the muzzle of a gun to help aim it correctly.
   - _He raised the rear sight and added a patch at the muzzle to level the line of aim._
   - _The old field guns relied on a patch to correct their sighting._
26. An overlay used to obtain a stronger impression on the printed page.
   - Simple: A piece placed under part of a printing plate to make that area print darker.
   - _The pressman built up a patch beneath the tympan to darken the faint headline._
   - _Several patches were added to even out the impression across the form._
27. A butterfly of the genus Chlosyne, a group of New World brushfoot butterflies.
   - Simple: A brightly marked butterfly known for the spotted pattern on its wings.
   - _A patch sunned itself on the warm rock with its wings spread wide._
   - _Researchers tagged dozens of patches moving through the canyon._

## Verb

6. To mend something by sewing on a piece of cloth, leather, or similar material.
   - Simple: To fix clothes or other cloth by sewing a piece over a hole.
   - _I patch my work gloves whenever the seams give out._
   - _The seamstress patched the elbows of the worn jacket._
7. To mend something by fastening one or more pieces onto it.
   - Simple: To repair something by fastening pieces of material onto it.
   - _Roofers patch the damaged section with overlapping shingles._
   - _He patched the canoe by riveting metal plates over the gash._
10. To fix or improve a computer program without replacing or upgrading the whole thing.
   - Simple: To fix or improve a computer program by changing only part of it.
   - _Engineers patch the server software as soon as a flaw is found._
   - _The company patched the vulnerability within hours of discovery._
12. To repair or put something together in a hasty or clumsy way, usually expressed with the particle 'up'.
   - Simple: To fix or put something together quickly and in a messy way, usually with 'up'.
   - _The friends managed to patch up their quarrel after the argument._
   - _She patched up the torn screen door in a few clumsy minutes._
16. To hook one electrical device up to another by running a cable between them.
   - Simple: To connect two pieces of electrical equipment with a cable.
   - _The engineer patched the keyboard into the recording console before the session._
   - _They patch each instrument into a separate channel on the mixing board._
17. To connect two pieces of equipment, or route a call or signal, through a temporary link that can easily be undone, as in a communications system.
   - Simple: To make a temporary connection between two parts of a communication system.
   - _The dispatcher patched the incoming call to the duty officer's line._
   - _During the storm, crews patch emergency frequencies into the main network._
19. To alter a computer program quickly, often as a stopgap until a fuller fix can be made.
   - Simple: To make a quick, often temporary change to a computer program to fix a problem.
   - _We can patch the build with a quick workaround to keep the site online for now._
   - _She patched the module on the fly to meet the deadline, planning a cleaner rewrite afterward._
20. To make something out of pieces or patches, as one makes a quilt.
   - Simple: To make something by joining many small pieces together, like a quilt.
   - _Her grandmother patched entire bedspreads from worn-out clothing._
   - _Villagers patch sturdy mats together from strips of dried grass._
21. To join or unite the separate pieces of something.
   - Simple: To join or unite the separate pieces of something into one.
   - _The seamstress patched the panels of the gown into a single flowing piece._
   - _They patch the fragments of the old map into a complete chart._

## Noun

28. A worthless or foolish fellow; a rogue or simpleton. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A silly, useless person who is not worth taking seriously.
   - _The old miser called his nephew a worthless patch and turned him out._
   - _Such patches loiter about the tavern, begging coins and picking quarrels._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–27** — From Middle English patche, of uncertain origin. It is perhaps an alteration of earlier Middle English placche ("patch, spot, piece of cloth"), from Old English forms meaning "a spot, mark, patch" and ultimately Proto-Germanic *plakjō ("spot, stain"), with related words in West Frisian, Dutch, and Low German. Alternatively, it may be a variant of Old French pieche, a dialectal form of piece.
**Meaning 28** — Perhaps borrowed from Italian pazzo or paggio, the form being influenced by folk etymological association with patch (from the first etymology).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/patch (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).