1
: a piece of material used to mend or cover a hole or a weak spot
2
: a tiny piece of black silk or court plaster worn on the face or neck especially by women to hide a blemish or to heighten beauty
3
a
: a piece of material (such as adhesive plaster) used medically usually to cover a wound
b
: a usually disk-shaped piece of material that is worn on the skin and contains a substance (such as a drug) that is absorbed at a constant rate through the skin into the bloodstream
a nicotine patch
c
: a shield worn over the socket of an injured or missing eye
4
5
: someone or something equal or comparable
—usually used in negative constructions
the new chairman isn't a patch on his predecessor
6
: a piece of cloth sewed on a garment as an ornament or insignia
especially
: shoulder patch
7
: a temporary connection in a communication system (such as a telephone hookup)
8
: a minor correction or modification in a computer program
patched; patching; patches
1
: to mend, cover, or fill up a hole or weak spot in
2
: to provide with a patch
3
a
: to make of patches or fragments
b
: to mend or put together especially in hasty or shabby fashion
—usually used with up
c
: to apply a patch to (a computer program)
4
a
: to connect (things, such as circuits) by a patch cord
b
: to connect (a person, a message, etc.) to a communication system especially temporarily
they patched him into the conference call
Synonyms
Examples of patch in a Sentence
Verb
The fence needs to be patched.
They patched him into the conference call.
Recent Examples on the Web
Elias Leight, Billboard, 22 Apr. 2024
The overall idea is for places experiencing worsening droughts and increasingly extreme flooding to deploy not only sponge city concepts on the ground—like patches of dirt with drought-tolerant plants to absorb stormwater into aquifers—but on top of their buildings as well.
—Matt Simon, WIRED, 22 Apr. 2024
Leaf blades are yellowed, and patches of the lawn look anemic.
—Neil Sperry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Apr. 2024
With Tesla hitting a soft patch, news surfaced this week that the company plans to cut at least 10% of its global workforce in a bid to cut costs.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2024
But the drive to electric vehicles has, at best, hit a rough patch, with little visibility into road conditions ahead.
—Russ Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
The company is also recommending affected users ensure all their devices are running the latest software patches.
—Michael Kan, PCMAG, 11 Apr. 2024
By visiting a grassland patch weeks after being grazed by larger herbivores, the smaller herbivores, which require more protein per unit body weight, can be selective and obtain better nutrition per bite.
—T. Michael Anderson, Discover Magazine, 6 Apr. 2024
The shoes have arch support, a counter patch at the heel to help prevent blisters, and extra cushioning in the midsole and insole that our tester raved about.
—Jessica Booth, Parents, 5 Apr. 2024
Heide Janssen, Orange County Register, 17 Mar. 2024
Biggest surprise of the night: After their emotional breakup, the two not only patched things up, but are practically best friends.
—Chyna Blackmon, Charlotte Observer, 14 Mar. 2024
Just ahead, spanning more than a mile across the darkened water, stood the Francis Scott Key Bridge, 185 feet high, with a crew of overnight construction workers on the road deck, patching cracks and filling potholes.
—William Wan, Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2024
With open source, bugs and vulnerabilities can be identified and patched much faster than in closed-source projects.
—Matthias Pfau, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
The six still-missing individuals were part of a construction crew patching pot holes in the bridge.
—Erin Marquis / Jalopnik, Quartz, 27 Mar. 2024
All except a few dozen hardy souls who formed the historical society and began patching the scars of this tumbledown town.
—Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 22 Mar. 2024
On Thursday, Camilla, 76, wore an emerald green coat by Bruce Oldfield, 73, featuring dark green velvet patches during her visit to Belfast, Northern Ireland.
—Becca Longmire, Peoplemag, 22 Mar. 2024
The studio will continue patching Baldur’s Gate 3 for the time being and is still working on adding official mod support for the game on both PCs and consoles.
—Emma Roth, The Verge, 22 Mar. 2024
Noun
Acts can become the butt of jokes, as screenshots showing large patches of empty seats or bottom-of-the-barrel ticket prices circulate on social media.
—Elias Leight, Billboard, 22 Apr. 2024
The overall idea is for places experiencing worsening droughts and increasingly extreme flooding to deploy not only sponge city concepts on the ground—like patches of dirt with drought-tolerant plants to absorb stormwater into aquifers—but on top of their buildings as well.
—Matt Simon, WIRED, 22 Apr. 2024
Leaf blades are yellowed, and patches of the lawn look anemic.
—Neil Sperry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Apr. 2024
With Tesla hitting a soft patch, news surfaced this week that the company plans to cut at least 10% of its global workforce in a bid to cut costs.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 18 Apr. 2024
But the drive to electric vehicles has, at best, hit a rough patch, with little visibility into road conditions ahead.
—Russ Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
The company is also recommending affected users ensure all their devices are running the latest software patches.
—Michael Kan, PCMAG, 11 Apr. 2024
By visiting a grassland patch weeks after being grazed by larger herbivores, the smaller herbivores, which require more protein per unit body weight, can be selective and obtain better nutrition per bite.
—T. Michael Anderson, Discover Magazine, 6 Apr. 2024
The shoes have arch support, a counter patch at the heel to help prevent blisters, and extra cushioning in the midsole and insole that our tester raved about.
—Jessica Booth, Parents, 5 Apr. 2024
Verb
Designing, hanging, patching, in addition to teaching his peers how to use our space, Mars shares his knowledge and care with grace.
—Heide Janssen, Orange County Register, 17 Mar. 2024
Biggest surprise of the night: After their emotional breakup, the two not only patched things up, but are practically best friends.
—Chyna Blackmon, Charlotte Observer, 14 Mar. 2024
Just ahead, spanning more than a mile across the darkened water, stood the Francis Scott Key Bridge, 185 feet high, with a crew of overnight construction workers on the road deck, patching cracks and filling potholes.
—William Wan, Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2024
With open source, bugs and vulnerabilities can be identified and patched much faster than in closed-source projects.
—Matthias Pfau, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
The six still-missing individuals were part of a construction crew patching pot holes in the bridge.
—Erin Marquis / Jalopnik, Quartz, 27 Mar. 2024
All except a few dozen hardy souls who formed the historical society and began patching the scars of this tumbledown town.
—Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 22 Mar. 2024
On Thursday, Camilla, 76, wore an emerald green coat by Bruce Oldfield, 73, featuring dark green velvet patches during her visit to Belfast, Northern Ireland.
—Becca Longmire, Peoplemag, 22 Mar. 2024
The studio will continue patching Baldur’s Gate 3 for the time being and is still working on adding official mod support for the game on both PCs and consoles.
—Emma Roth, The Verge, 22 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'patch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to patch
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Cite this Entry
“Patch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patch. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
patch
1 of 2 noun1
: a piece of material used to mend or cover a hole, a torn place, or a weak spot
2
: a shield (as of cloth) worn over an injured eye
3
: a small piece : scrap
4
a
: a small area or plot different from its surroundings
a patch of oats
a patch of blistered skin
b
: a spot of color : blotch
5
: a piece of cloth worn (as on the shoulder of a uniform) as an ornament or insignia
patch
2 of 2 verb1
: to mend, cover, or fill up a hole or weak spot in
2
: to provide with a patch
3
a
: to make out of patches
b
: to mend or put together especially hastily or clumsily
c
: to deal with successfully : settle
—usually used with up
patched up their differences
Medical Definition
patch
noun1
a
: a piece of material used medically usually to cover a wound or repair a defect see patch graft
b
: a usually disk-shaped piece of material that is worn on the skin and contains a substance (as a drug) that is absorbed at a constant rate through the skin and into the bloodstream
a nicotine patch
called also skin patch
c
: a shield worn over the socket of an injured or missing eye
2
: a circumscribed region of tissue (as on the skin or in a section from an organ) that differs from the normal color or composition
sometimes great white patches develop on the tongue, the cheeks, and the gums—Morris Fishbein
Morris Fishbein
patch
transitive verb
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