Dictionary Definition
patch
Noun
1 a small contrasting part of something; "a bald
spot"; "a leopard's spots"; "a patch of clouds"; "patches of thin
ice"; "a fleck of red" [syn: spot, speckle, dapple, fleck, maculation]
2 a small area of ground covered by specific
vegetation; "a bean plot"; "a cabbage patch"; "a briar patch" [syn:
plot, plot of
ground]
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" [syn: while, piece, spell]
5 a short set of commands to correct a bug in a
computer program
6 a connection intended to be used for a limited
time [syn: temporary
hookup]
7 sewing or darning that repairs a worn or torn
hole (especially in a garment); "her stockings had several mends"
[syn: mend, darn]
8 a protective cloth covering for an injured eye
[syn: eyepatch]
9 a piece of soft material that covers and
protects an injured part of the body [syn: bandage]
Verb
1 to join or unite the pieces of; "patch the
skirt" [syn: piece]
2 provide with a patch; also used metaphorically;
"The field was patched with snow"
3 mend by putting a patch on; "patch a hole"
[syn: patch
up]
4 repair by adding pieces; "She pieced the china
cup" [syn: piece]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
- /pætʃ/
-
- Rhymes with: -ætʃ
Etymology
Noun
- 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.
- A small piece of anything used to repair a breach; as, a patch on a kettle, a roof, etc.
- A small piece of black silk stuck on the face, or neck, to hide a defect, or to heighten beauty.
- A piece of greased cloth or leather used as wrapping for a rifle ball, to make it fit the bore.
- A small area, a small piece of ground; a tract; a plot; as, scattered patches of trees or growing corn.
- A short period of time, especially one which causes trouble.
- A fit.
- A block on the muzzle of a gun, to do away with the effect of dispart, in sighting.
- A paltry fellow; a rogue; a ninny; a fool.
- A file describing changes made to a computer file or files, usually changes made to a computer program that fix a programming bug. A patch file, a file used for input to a patch program.
- An adhesive piece of material, impregnated with a drug, which is worn on the skin; the drug being slowly absorbed over a period of time.
- A small piece of material that is manually passed through a gun barrel to clean it.
Derived terms
Translations
piece of cloth used to repair something
small piece of anything used to repair something
piece of black silk stuck to the face
piece of greased cloth used to wrap a rifle ball
small piece (of ground, etc)
- Danish: bed , jordstykke
- Korean: 밭 (bat)
block on the muzzle of a gun
fool
See fool
computing: a file describing changes made to
source code
- Czech: záplata
- Finnish: pätsi (colloquial), paikkaus, korjaustiedosto
adhesive piece worn on the skin
- Czech: náplast
Proper noun
- The program that updates old versions of files, based on a record of differences with the newer versions.
Usage notes
The proper noun "patch" is written in lower case because of Unix conventions and its case sensitivity.Verb
- To mend by sewing on a piece or pieces of cloth, leather, or the like; as, to patch a coat.
- To mend with pieces; to repair with pieces fastened on.
- To repair clumsily; as, to patch the roof of a house.
- To adorn, as the face, with a patch or patches.
- To make of pieces or patches like a quilt.
- To repair as with patches.
- To arrange in a hasty or clumsy manner; – generally with up; as, to patch up a truce.
- To make the changes a patch describes; to apply a
patch to the files in question. Hence:
- To fix or improve a computer program without a complete upgrade.
- To make a quick and possibly temporary change to a program.
Translations
mend by sewing on cloth
- Finnish: paikata
mend with pieces
- Finnish: paikata
repair clumsily
adorn with patches (small pieces of black silk)
make of pieces or patches
repair as with patches
arrange in a hasty or clumsy manner
computing: update source code with a patch
- Finnish: paikata
Extensive Definition
The term patch may refer to:
Textiles
- Embroidered patch applied to clothing by organizations or individuals
- Eyepatch, used in the treatment of eye disorders, or for aesthetic purposes in covering an injured or missing eye
- Shoulder patch, or Shoulder Sleeve Insignia (US Army), various types of insignia used for military identification
- Patch, a piece of textile or fabric used to repair a hole in a larger piece. See: Maintenance, repair and operations
Medication
- Transdermal patch, skin patch to administer medication via the skin
- Nicotine patch, used to quit smoking
- Contraceptive patch, used to prevent pregnancy
- Patch, a type of Bandage or other piece of material, used medically to cover a wound
Electronics
- Patch (synthesizer), a sound setting for musical synthesizers
- Patch cable, an electrical cable which can be used to alter the functionality of a piece of electrical equipment
- Autopatch or phone patch, used in amateur radio to access an outgoing connection
Land
- Patch and mosaic, a habitat patch in landscape ecology
- Patch, a small garden, or a place where specific fruits or vegetables are grown (e.g. pumpkin patch)
Music
- "Patches", a tragic 1962 ballad sung by Dickey Lee
- "Patches", 1970 hit record for Chairmen of the Board (band), later covered by Clarence Carter
People
- Alexander Patch (1889-1945), general of US Army in World War II
- Patch Adams, aka Hunter Adams (b. 1945), founder of the Gesundheit! Institute
- Patch, aka Steve Johnson (Days of our Lives), a fictional character on the American soap opera Days of Our Lives
- Patch, a fictional character from The Tribe (TV series) played by Morgan Palmer-Hubbard
- Patch, a alias/nickname of Wolverine
Computing
- Patch (computing), a fix for a software program where the actual binary executable and related files are modified.
- Patch (Unix), a UNIX utility that applies a script generated by the diff program to a set of files, allowing changes from one file to be automatically applied to another file.
- Patch, a 3-D Bézier curve used in computer graphics, or a primitive in some 3-D software packages
Other uses
- Patch, the practice of compulsory figures in figure skating, as each skater is assigned their own "patch" of ice
patch in Danish: Patch (flertydig)
patch in German: Patch
patch in Spanish: Parche
patch in French: Patch
patch in Italian: Patch
patch in Russian: Патч (значения)
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Hershey bar, X ray, actinic ray, actinism, area, atomic beam, atomic ray,
aviation badge, badge,
bailiwick, bar, bat out, beam, beam of light, birthmark, blaze, blemish, block, bloodstain, blot, blotch, blur, botch, brand, bring to terms, bungle, bury the hatchet, caste
mark, check, checkmark, chevron, chicken, chip, cicatrix, clearing, clos, close, cobble, come to terms, commission, condition, corn field,
cover, croft, crumb, cultivated land, cut, dab, dapple, dappledness, dappleness, darn, dash off, daub, discoloration, do anyhow,
do by halves, do carelessly, do offhand, do up, doctor, dot, dottedness, eagle, earmark, enclave, engraving, epaulet, episode, experience, eyesore, fake up, field, fix, fix up, fleck, flick, flyspeck, forty, freckle, freckliness, fudge up, gamma
ray, gash, gleam, graving, ground, hack, hash mark, hayfield, heal, improvise, infrared ray,
insignia of branch, interval, invisible radiation,
jot, jury-rig, knock off,
knock out, knock together, knock up, kraal, lash up, leam, lentigo, lot, macula, maculation, macule, mark, marking, mend, mole, morceau, morsel, mottle, mottledness, nevus, nick, nip, notch, oak leaf, organization
insignia, overhaul,
overseas bar, pad, paddy, pale, parachute badge, parcel, parcel of land, patch
together, patch up, pencil, period, photon, piece, piece of land, pip, plat, plot, plot of ground, point, pointillage, pointillism, polka dot,
pound out, prick, puncture, put in commission,
put in order, put in repair, put in shape, quad, quadrangle, radiation, radiorays, ray, ray of light, ready, real estate, rebuild, recap, reconcile, recondition, reconstruct, reinforce, reinforcement, repair, resolve, responsibility, retread, revamp, ribbon, ribbon of light, rice
paddy, rough out, roughcast, roughhew, scar, scarification, score, scotch, scrap, scratch, scratching, section, segment, service, service stripe, set
right, set straight, set to rights, settle, sew up, shiver, shoulder patch, shoulder
sleeve insignia, shred,
slap up, sliver, smear, smirch, smithereen, smouch, smudge, smut, smutch, snick, snip, snippet, solar rays, spatter, speck, speckle, speckliness, spell, splash, splatter, splinter, splotch, spot, spottedness, spottiness, spread eagle,
square, stage, stain, star, stigma, stipple, stippledness, stippling, stitch, straighten out,
strawberry mark, streak,
stream, stream of light,
streamer, stripe, submarine badge, tag, taint, tarnish, tatter, tattoo, tattoo mark, territory, throw off, throw
together, tick, time, tinker, tinker up, tittle, toss off, toss out, toss
together, tract, trifle
with, ultraviolet ray, vamp, violet ray, watermark, wheat field, whomp
up