patch

Definitions


[patʃ], (Noun)

Definitions:
- a piece of cloth or other material used to mend or strengthen a torn or weak point
(e.g: the jacket was of well-worn tweed with leather patches on the elbows)

- a part of something marked out from the rest by a particular characteristic
(e.g: his hair was combed forward to hide a growing bald patch)

- a small piece of ground, especially one used for gardening
(e.g: they spent Sundays digging their vegetable patch)

- a particular period of time
(e.g: he may have been going through a bad patch)

- a temporary electrical or telephone connection

- a small piece of code inserted into a program to improve its functioning or to correct a fault
(e.g: a program patch that fixes a bug)


Phrases:
- not a patch on

Origin:
late Middle English: perhaps from a variant of Old French pieche, dialect variant of piece ‘piece’


[patʃ], (Verb)

Definitions:
- mend or strengthen (fabric or clothing) with a patch
(e.g: her jeans were neatly patched)

- treat someone's injuries or repair the damage to something in an improvised way
(e.g: they did their best to patch up the gaping wounds)

- connect by a temporary electrical, radio, or telephonic connection
(e.g: patch me through to number nine)

- improve or correct (a routine or program) by inserting a patch
(e.g: had he patched our system to recognize a magic password?)


Phrases:
- not a patch on

Origin:
late Middle English: perhaps from a variant of Old French pieche, dialect variant of piece ‘piece’




definition by Oxford Dictionaries