01 n. 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 …
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1.
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.“Patches set upon a little breach.” — Shak.
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2.
A small piece of anything used to repair a breach; as, a patch on a kettle, a roof, etc.
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3.
A small piece of black silk stuck on the face, or neck, to hide a defect, or to heighten beauty.“Your black patches you wear variously.” — Beau. & Fl.
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4.
A piece of greased cloth or leather used as wrapping for a rifle ball, to make it fit the bore.(Gun.)
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5.
Fig.: Anything regarded as a patch; a small piece of ground; a tract; a plot; as, scattered patches of trees or growing corn.“Employed about this patch of ground.” — Bunyan.
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6.
A block on the muzzle of a gun, to do away with the effect of dispart, in sighting.(Mil.)
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7.
A paltry fellow; a rogue; a ninny; a fool.[Obs. or Colloq.]
Phrases & compounds
Patch ice —
ice in overlapping pieces in the sea.
Soft patch —
a patch for covering a crack in a metallic vessel, as a steam boiler, consisting of soft material, as putty, covered and held in place by a plate bolted or riveted fast.