Link Centre Dictionary

patch

UK/pæt͡ʃ/ US/ˈpætʃ/ common
noun (9) verb (4)

noun

1.

a small contrasting part of something

  • “a bald spot”
  • “a leopard”
  • “;”
  • “;”
  • “;”
Synonyms
2.

a small area of ground covered by specific vegetation

  • “a bean plot”
  • “a cabbage patch”
  • “a briar patch”
Synonyms
3.

a piece of cloth used as decoration or to mend or cover a hole

4.

a period of indeterminate length (usually short) marked by some action or condition

  • “he was here for a little while”
  • “I need to rest for a piece”
  • “a spell of good weather”
  • “a patch of bad weather”
Synonyms
5.

a short set of commands to correct a bug in a computer program

6.

thin wheel with teeth that engage with a chain

Synonyms
7.

sewing or darning that repairs a worn or torn hole (especially in a garment)

  • “her stockings had several mends”
Synonyms
8.
9.

a piece of soft material that covers and protects an injured part of the body

Synonyms

verb

1.

to join or unite the pieces of

  • “patch the skirt”
Synonyms
2.

provide with a patch; also used metaphorically

  • “The field was patched with snow”
3.

mend by putting a patch on

  • “patch a hole”
Synonyms
4.

repair by adding pieces

  • “She pieced the china cup”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English patche, of uncertain origin. Perhaps an alteration of earlier Middle English placche (“patch, spot, piece of cloth”), from Old English *plæċċ, *pleċċ (“a spot, mark, patch”), from Proto-West Germanic *plakkju, from Proto-Germanic *plakjō (“spot, stain”). For the loss of l compare pat from Middle English platten. Germanic cognates would then include Middle English plecke, dialectal English pleck (“plot of ground, patch”), West Frisian plak (“place, spot”), Low German Plakk, Plakke (“spot, piece, patch”), Dutch plek (“spot, place, stain, patch”), Dutch plak (“piece, slab”), Swedish plagg (“garment”), Faroese plagg (“cloth, rag”). Or, possibly a variant of Old French pieche, dialectal variant of piece (“piece”). Compare also Old Occitan petaç (“patch”).

Phrases

  • bad patch
  • bald patch
  • bare patch
  • brood patch
  • cabbage patch
  • cold patch
  • diff file
  • eye patch
  • Gabor patch
  • patch over
  • patch together

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

See also

Part of

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.