patches

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of patch.

   Foggy patches lingered over the valley until the sun rose higher.

   The tailor stitched leather patches over the frayed elbows of the coat.

   Note

   Because patch ends in a hissing -ch sound, the plural adds -es rather than a plain -s, and the ending is heard as an extra syllable. The plural carries every meaning of the noun, from leather sewn over a worn elbow to the distinct areas in "patches of fog," where the plural suggests something scattered and broken up rather than one continuous spread.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of patch.

   The update patches a serious flaw in the login system.

   Each spring the road crew patches the cracks left by winter frost.

   Note

   The same spelling does a different job here. Where the plural noun counts several pieces, this form agrees with a single subject: she patches, the crew patches. It covers the whole range of the verb, from sewing on cloth to repairs made hastily or clumsily, and to making a temporary, removable electronic connection between two parts of a system.

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