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.

• His sleeves had patches on the elbows where different fabric had been sewn on to replace material that had worn away.

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.
• "This patch should hold until you reach the city," the mechanic said as he patted the car's hood.

A small, usually contrasting but always somehow different or distinct, part of something else (location, time, size)

• The world economy had a rough patch in the 1930s.
• To me, a normal cow is white with black patches, but Sarah's from Texas and most of the cows there have solid brown, black, or red coats.

A small area, a small plot of land or piece of ground.specifically

• scattered patches of trees or growing corn
• There was a blackberry patch down by the creek, and his grandparents called the pasture down there the cow patch.

A local region of professional responsibility.

• There is a lot to be said in praise of the local or regional outlet that keeps very closely across the doings and news in their patch.
• […] formed a contact with a man, who was the secretary of the tenants' association of a small housing estate in the social worker's patch.

A small piece of black silk stuck on the face or neck to heighten beauty by contrast, worn by ladies in the 17th and 18th centuries; an imitation beauty mark.historical

• Your black patches you wear variously.

A piece of material used to cover a wound.

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.

• Many people use a nicotine patch to wean themselves off of nicotine.

A cover worn over a damaged eye, an eyepatch.

• He had scratched his cornea so badly that his doctor told him to wear a patch.

To mend by sewing on a piece or pieces of cloth, leather, or the like.

• My coat needs patching.

To mend with pieces; to repair by fastening pieces on.

To make out of pieces or patches, like a quilt.

• I patched together this quilt.

To join or unite the pieces of; to patch the skirt.

To employ a temporary, removable electronic connection, as one between two components in a communications system.

• [the control panel of hovercraft The Logos has lit up after being jumped by The Hammer] Sparky: She lives again. Crew member of The Hammer via radio: You want us to patch an uplink to reload the software, Sparky? Sparky: Yeah, that'd be swe

To repair or arrange in a hasty or clumsy manner

• The truce between the two countries has been patched up.

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 the changes a patch describes; to apply a patch to the files in question. Hence:; To make a quick and possibly temporary change to a program.

To connect two pieces of electrical equipment using a cable.

• I'll need to patch the preamp output to the mixer.

A paltry fellow; a rogue; a ninny; a fool.archaic

• Shylock: The patch is kind enough, but a huge feeder, Snail-slow in profit, and he sleeps by day More than the wild-cat;[…]
• Caliban: What a pied ninny's this! Thou scurvy patch![…]