Etymology : Middle English pacche
Pronunciation : pach
Function : noun
Date : 14th century
1. area of fabric used to repair a hole; stain; bandage; lot, plot of land; small repair to a program which adds or changes only a small part of the program (Computers). cover a hole with a piece of material; use as a patch, use to cover a hole. patch\patch\ , v. t. [imp. & p. p. patched ; p. pr. & vb. n. patching.].
2. to mend by sewing on a piece or pieces of cloth, leather, or the like; as, to patch a coat.
3. to mend with pieces; to repair with pieces festened on; to repair clumsily; as, to patch the roof of a house.
4. to adorn, as the face, with a patch or patches. ladies who patched both sides of their faces.
5. to make of pieces or patches; to repair as with patches; to arrange in a hasty or clumsy manner; -- generally with up; as, to patch up a truce. "if you'll patch a quarrel."patch \patch\ , n. [oe. pacche; of uncertain origin, perh. for placche; cf. prov. e. platch patch, lg. plakk, plakke.].
6. a piece of cloth, or other suitable material, sewed or otherwise fixed upon a garment to repair or strengthen it, esp. upon an old garment to cover a hole. patches set upon a little breach.
7. hence: a small piece of anything used to repair a breach; as, a patch on a kettle, a roof, etc.
8. a small piece of black silk stuck on the face, or neck, to hide a defect, or to heighten beauty. your black patches you wear variously. & fl.
9. (gun.) a piece of greased cloth or leather used as wrapping for a rifle ball, to make it fit the bore.
10. fig.: anything regarded as a patch; a small piece of ground; a tract; a plot; as, scattered patches of trees or growing corn. employed about this patch of ground.
11. (mil.) a block on the muzzle of a gun, to do away with the effect of dispart, in sighting.
12. a paltry fellow; a rogue; a ninny; a fool. [obs. or colloq.] "thou scurvy patch."patch ice, ice in overlapping pieces in the sea.
13. A piece of cloth, or other suitable material, sewed or otherwise fixed upon a garment to repair or strengthen it, esp. upon an old garment to cover a hole.
14. A small piece of anything used to repair a breach; as, a patch on a kettle, a roof, etc.
15. A small piece of black silk stuck on the face, or neck, to hide a defect, or to heighten beauty.
16. A piece of greased cloth or leather used as wrapping for a rifle ball, to make it fit the bore.
17. Fig.: Anything regarded as a patch; a small piece of ground; a tract; a plot; as, scattered patches of trees or growing corn.
18. A block on the muzzle of a gun, to do away with the effect of dispart, in sighting.
19. A paltry fellow; a rogue; a ninny; a fool.
20. To mend by sewing on a piece or pieces of cloth, leather, or the like; as, to patch a coat.
21. To mend with pieces; to repair with pieces festened on; to repair clumsily; as, to patch the roof of a house.
22. To adorn, as the face, with a patch or patches.
23. To make of pieces or patches; to repair as with patches; to arrange in a hasty or clumsy manner; generally with up; as, to patch up a truce. a piece of cloth used as decoration or to mend or cover a hole a short set of commands to correct a bug in a computer program mend by putting a patch on; "patch a hole" to join or unite the pieces of; "patch the skirt" provide with a patch; also used metaphorically; "The field was patched with snow".
24. 1. A patch on a surface is a part of it which is different in appearance from the area around it. the bald patch on the top of his head There was a small patch of blue in the grey clouds.
25. A patch of land is a small area of land where a particular plant or crop grows. a patch of land covered in forest. the little vegetable patch in her backyard.
26. A patch is a piece of material which you use to cover a hole in something. jackets with patches on the elbows.
27. A patch is a small piece of material which you wear to cover an injured eye. She went to the hospital and found him lying down with a patch over his eye. see also:
eye patch.
28. If you patch something that has a hole in it, you mend it by fastening a patch over the hole. He and Walker patched the barn roof their patched clothes.
29. A patch is a piece of computer program code written as a temporary solution for dealing with a virus in computer software and distributed by the makers of the original program. Older machines will need a software patch to be loaded to correct the date.
30. If you have or go through a bad patch or a rough patch, you have a lot of problems for a time. His marriage was going through a bad patch.
31. If you say that someone or something is not a patch on another person or thing, you mean that they are not as good as that person or thing. Handsome, she thought, but not a patch on Alex. A fool or clown; a dolt. patch up to repair a hole in something by putting a piece of something else over it patch together to make something quickly or carelessly from a number of different pieces or ideas.