patch

plural patches

1. A piece of cloth, or other suitable material, sewed or otherwise fixed upon a garment to repair or strengthen it, especially upon an old garment to cover a hole.

   His sleeves had patches on the elbows where different fabric had been sewn on to replace material that had worn away.

2. A small piece of anything used to repair damage or a breach; as, a patch on a kettle, a roof, etc.

   I can't afford to replace the roof, which is what it really needs. I'll have the roofer apply a patch.

3. A piece of any size, used to repair something for a temporary period only, or that it is temporary because it is not meant to last long or will be removed as soon as a proper repair can be made, which will happen in the near future.

   Before you can fix a dam, you have to apply a patch to the hole so that everything can dry off.

   1 more example

   "This patch should hold until you reach the city," the mechanic said as he patted the car's hood.

4. A small, usually contrasting but always somehow different or distinct, part of something else (location, time, size)

   Doesn't that patch of clouds looks like a bunny?

   3 more examples

   The world economy had a rough patch in the 1930s.

   To me, a normal cow is white with black patches, but Sarah's from Texas and most of the cows there have solid brown, black, or red coats.

   When ice skating, be sure to stay away from reeds: there are always thin patches of ice there, and you could fall through.

   Synonyms: section, area, blotch, spot, period of time, spell, stretch

5. specificallyA small area, a small plot of land or piece of ground.

   scattered patches of trees or growing corn

   2 more examples

   There was a blackberry patch down by the creek, and his grandparents called the pasture down there the cow patch.

   Just the suggestion that a good blueberry patch was near would bring everything to a standstill.

   1940 November, “Notes and News: Railway Operation Ad Lib”, in Railway Magazine, pages 611–612

   Synonyms: tract

6. A local region of professional responsibility.

   There is a lot to be said in praise of the local or regional outlet that keeps very closely across the doings and news in their patch.

   2012, Bruce Grundy, Martin Hirst, Janine Little, So You Want To Be A Journalist?: Unplugged, →ISBN, page 44

   1 more example

   […] formed a contact with a man, who was the secretary of the tenants' association of a small housing estate in the social worker's patch.

   1980, Noel Parry, Michael Rustin, Carole Satyamurti, Social Work, Welfare & the State, page 101

7. historicalA small piece of black silk stuck on the face or neck to heighten beauty by contrast, worn by ladies in the 17th and 18th centuries; an imitation beauty mark.

   Your black patches you wear variously.

   1625, John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, “The Elder Brother. A Comedy.”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1679, →OCLC, Act III, scene v

   1 more example

   ...Then the patches had to be placed—patches full of sentiment, coquetry, and bits of opinions as minute as themselves. Essences and powder had to he scattered together, and Henrietta's long black tresses gathered into a mass which might fairly set all the orders of architecture at defiance.

   1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Another London Life”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 169

   Synonyms: beauty spot

8. medicineA piece of material used to cover a wound.
9. medicineAn adhesive piece of material, impregnated with a drug, which is worn on the skin, the drug being slowly absorbed over a period of time.

   Many people use a nicotine patch to wean themselves off of nicotine.

10. medicineA cover worn over a damaged eye, an eyepatch.

    He had scratched his cornea so badly that his doctor told him to wear a patch.

11. A block on the muzzle of a gun, to do away with the effect of dispart, in sighting.
12. computingA piece of data intended to modify a computer file by replacing a part of it.

    1 more example

    Immediately following the incident Siemens commissioned a software patch that will allow units which protectively shut down below 49Hz to recover themselves without the need of a reboot or laptop when the frequency rises to 49.5Hz. At the beginning of September, this patch was being verified by Siemens software engineers at Erlangen in Germany.

    2019 October, Roger Ford, “Power failure highlights specification confusion”, in Modern Railways, page 28

13. engineeringA small piece of material that is manually passed through a gun barrel to clean it.
14. engineeringA piece of greased cloth or leather used as wrapping for a rifle ball, to make it fit the bore.
15. usuallyoften patch cable; patch cord; see also patch panel; often patch cable; patch cord; see also patch panelA cable connecting two pieces of electrical equipment.

    soundboard patch

16. entertainmentA sound setting for a musical synthesizer (originally selected by means of a patch cable).

    A synthesizer comes with controls to store patches and edit them. Some high-end synthesizers even have floppy disks for additional patch storage.

    1988 November 28, “MIDI: Computers and Music”, in U-M Computing News, volume 3, number 21, The University of Michigan Computing Center, page 11

17. historicalmediaAn overlay used to obtain a stronger impression.
18. abbreviationellipsisEllipsis of patch town or coal patch.
19. A butterfly of the genus Chlosyne.

present singular third person patches · participle present patching · participle past patched · past patched

1. To mend by sewing on a piece or pieces of cloth, leather, or the like.

   My coat needs patching.

   1 more example

   That concertina was a wonder in its way. The handles that was on it first was wore out long ago, and he'd made new ones of braided rope yarn. And the bellows was patched in more places than a cranberry picker's overalls.

   1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC

2. To mend with pieces; to repair by fastening pieces on.
3. To make out of pieces or patches, like a quilt.

   I patched together this quilt.

4. To join or unite the pieces of; to patch the skirt.
5. To employ a temporary, removable electronic connection, as one between two components in a communications system.

   [the control panel of hovercraft The Logos has lit up after being jumped by The Hammer] Sparky: She lives again. Crew member of The Hammer via radio: You want us to patch an uplink to reload the software, Sparky? Sparky: Yeah, that'd be swell. And can you clean the windshield while you're at it?

   2003, The Matrix Revolutions, Scene: Starting the Logos, 00:43:09 - 00:43:32

6. generally with the particle "up"To repair or arrange in a hasty or clumsy manner

   The truce between the two countries has been patched up.

7. To make the changes a patch describes; to apply a patch to the files in question. Hence:
   1. computingTo fix or improve a computer program without a complete upgrade.
   2. computingTo make a quick and possibly temporary change to a program.
8. To connect two pieces of electrical equipment using a cable.

   I'll need to patch the preamp output to the mixer.

plural patches

1. archaicA paltry fellow; a rogue; a ninny; a fool.

   Caliban: What a pied ninny's this! Thou scurvy patch![…]

   1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]

   1 more example

   Shylock: The patch is kind enough, but a huge feeder, Snail-slow in profit, and he sleeps by day More than the wild-cat;[…]

   c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene v]

plural Patches · nonstandard plural Patchs

1. A surname.

   Among my uncle Roger's farm servants, Esau Fletcher and Peter Patch came to the parsonage house.

   2011, Hugh Nissenson, Pilgrim

   2 more examples

   By the Master's report made in the said causes, dated the 18th of June, 1849, the said Master certified that the total amount then due and owing to the Plaintiff John Patch for such arrears of the annuities and annual payments of the said Susanna Jemima Hicks amounted to the sum of 4,489l. 15s.[…]

   1857, Charles Stewart Drewry, Sir Richard Torin Kindersley, John Jackson Smale, Reports of Cases Decided in the High Court of Chancery, volume 3, page 368

   Tim Patch, also known as "Pricasso" for painting up to 20 portraits a day using his penis and sometimes his buttocks, was a guest on Breakfast with O'Neil on Thursday morning. ... "Sexpo is also about a little bit of naughty fun. Miss Nude Australia, Adrianna Starr, revealed a little more than her personality on air on Friday morning, and Pricasso produced a live demonstration of his unique talent."

   2008 February 9, Make friends, “Face Painting anyone? from someone who paints with his penis?”, in australia.radio.broadcast.moderated (Usenet)