a small piece of material used to mend a tear or break, to cover a hole, or to strengthen a weak place: patches at the elbows of a sports jacket.
a piece of material used to cover or protect a wound, an injured part, etc.: a patch over the eye.
Also called skin patch,trans·der·mal patch . an adhesive patch that applies to the skin and gradually delivers drugs or medication to the user: using a nicotine patch to try to quit smoking.
any of the pieces of cloth sewed together to form patchwork.
a small piece, scrap, or area of anything: a patch of ice on the road.
a piece or tract of land; plot.
a small field, plot, or garden, especially one in which a specific type of plant grows or is cultivated: a cabbage patch; a bean patch.
beauty spot (def. 1).
Military. a cloth emblem worn on the upper uniform sleeve to identify the military unit of the wearer.
a small organizational or affiliational emblem of cloth sewn to one's jacket, shirt, cap, etc.
a connection or hookup, as between radio circuits or telephone lines: The patch allowed shut-ins to hear the game by telephone.
a period of time characterized by some quality: he was going through a rough patch.
Computers. a small piece of code designed to be inserted into an executable program in order to fix errors in, or update the program or its supporting data.
verb (used with object)
to mend, cover, or strengthen with or as if with a patch or patches.
to repair or restore, especially in a hasty or makeshift way (usually followed by up).
to make by joining patches or pieces together: to patch a quilt.
to settle or smooth over (a quarrel, difference, etc.) (often followed by up): They patched up their quarrel before the company arrived.
(especially in radio and telephone communications) to connect or hook up (circuits, programs, conversations, etc.) (often followed by through, into, etc.): The radio show was patched through to the ship. Patch me through to the mainland.
verb (used without object)
to make a connection between radio circuits, telephone lines, etc. (often followed by in or into): We patched into the ship-to-shore conversation.
Origin of patch
1
1350–1400; Middle English pacche; perhaps akin to Old Provençal pedas “piece to cover a hole,” from unattested Vulgar Latin pedaceum literally, “something measured”; compare Medieval Latin pedāre “to measure in fee”t; see -ped
In higher-latitude regions, such as the Tasman Sea, relief tended to be much closer, within a few tens of kilometers of the overheated patch, the researchers found.
Species may swim thousands of kilometers to escape ocean heat waves|Carolyn Gramling|August 10, 2020|Science News
The officers’ uniforms bear a large patch that says “police,” but they aren’t police.
What Happened In Portland Shows Just How Fragile Our Democracy Is|Maggie Koerth (maggie.koerth-baker@fivethirtyeight.com)|August 5, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Microraptor’s shorter feathers appear in just a small patch on one of the dinosaur’s four wings — suggesting that the dinosaur molted sequentially, too, bird ecologist Yosef Kiat at the University of Haifa in Israel and colleagues report.
This dinosaur may have shed its feathers like modern songbirds|Carolyn Gramling|July 16, 2020|Science News
Other times, they arranged patches of spikes in different directions.
Shape-shifting cuts give shoes a better grip|Carolyn Wilke|July 14, 2020|Science News For Students
Broken pipes and pumps are fixed in patches when money comes through from both federal governments or via the North American Development Bank.
Local Groups Pause Tijuana Sewage Lawsuits, But Solutions Are Still Far Off|MacKenzie Elmer|July 8, 2020|Voice of San Diego
But the illusions of peace and tranquility soon crumble around them like a patch of freshly laid snow.
‘Force Majeure’ and the Swedish Family Vacation From Hell|Alex Suskind|October 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There was a patch of congealed blood behind his head: “Except for the blood…the dead man looked immaculate.”
How to Get Away With a Hollywood Murder|Tim Teeman|October 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A powder-blue blazer with a patch reading “All-Time All-American” hung in a clear plastic bag from the closet doorknob.
Football Great Bob Suffridge Wanders Through the End Zone of Life|Paul Hemphill|September 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Nobody else thought that his patch, on a 60-degree angled slope, was viable as a vineyard.
Napa’s Earthquake Is Not The Only Thing Shaking The Vineyards|Clive Irving|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But while this basic maintenance was important, the "main focus is giving [volunteers] more interaction" said Patch.