patch
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.
Example
“His sleeves had patches on the elbows where different fabric had been sewn on to replace material that had worn away.”
Other meanings
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.”
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.”
Synonyms
- spot
Word history
From Middle English "pacche" (patche).
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “patch” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; related-word lists use Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0, based on Princeton WordNet), published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.