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patch

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb patch contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of patch are mend, rebuild, and repair. While all these words mean "to put into good order something that is injured, damaged, or defective," patch implies an often temporary fixing of a hole or break with new material.

patch worn jeans

When can mend be used instead of patch?

While the synonyms mend and patch are close in meaning, mend implies making whole or sound something broken, torn, or injured.

mended the torn dress

When is it sensible to use rebuild instead of patch?

The words rebuild and patch are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, rebuild suggests making like new without completely replacing.

a rebuilt automobile engine

When would repair be a good substitute for patch?

The meanings of repair and patch largely overlap; however, repair applies to the fixing of more extensive damage or dilapidation.

repaired the back steps

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of patch
Noun
These reusable silicone patches help smooth fine lines around the brows, eyes, mouth, and neck. Mia Meltzer, Rolling Stone, 1 Nov. 2024 The video, which has amassed 3.4 million views since it was posted on August 29, shows Yuna walking out of a cage and cautiously stepping onto a patch of grass. Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024
Verb
Fritz and Wolfe subsequently patched things up by 2023. Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 1 Oct. 2024 Best Arizona pumpkin patches 2024 Find your Great Pumpkin at Schnepf Farms, Mortimer Farms, Tolmachoff Farms and other pumpkin patches and festivals in Phoenix and around Arizona. Lorenzino Estrada, The Arizona Republic, 25 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for patch 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for patch
Noun
  • The horse chestnut leaf blotch pathogen overwinters as fruiting bodies in leaves infected during the previous season.
    Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2024
  • This fungal disease appears as gray blotches on the bark, eventually developing into sunken cankers.
    Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 31 Oct. 2024
Noun
  • The moon is a fuzzy speck in the upper center of the image.
    Amanda Kooser, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024
  • But hauling out a heavy duty appliance and taking the time to track down every speck of dust can get old quickly.
    Shea Simmons, People.com, 12 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • At the Senator, Hayes said, the building was getting repaired, tenants were seeing caseworkers more frequently and overall there was a growing sense of order.
    Liam Dillon, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Some can grow new tissue that beats, which is obviously important for repairing damage after a heart attack.
    Michael Irving, New Atlas, 4 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • Each dot represents five voters for a particular candidate, and they are randomly dispersed throughout the precinct (in other words, the dot does not represent the exact address where the voters live).
    Kunle Falayi, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024
  • The Falcon 9's first stage boosted the rocket out of the dense lower atmosphere and then fall away, restarting three of its nine engines (bright dot at top center) to begin reversing course to head back to Cape Canaveral for landing.
    William Harwood, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • Disney chefs sprinkled candy cane bits and pumped peppermint into the park’s classic hot chocolate.
    Brady MacDonald, Orange County Register, 7 Nov. 2024
  • Scientists found mummies covered in ancient cheese By Rachel Feltman Scientists recently found some cheese that’s been developing its funk for a little bit longer than usual: 3,500 years or so.
    Popular Science Staff, Popular Science, 6 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • Closing camps isn’t solving homelessness The relocation of the homeless in the San Francisco Bay Area is an issue that must be fixed.
    Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2024
  • Indeed, clicking that link fixed the problem and upped my security score by two points.
    PCMAG, PCMAG, 7 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • Poets and cub scouts, romantics and scientists, people young and old around the world have looked up and been dazzled by the flecks of light speckled across the night’s inky canvas.
    Abbey Stone, SELF, 31 Oct. 2024
  • This technique is primarily performed to alter the color so a dish wouldn’t end up with black flecks.
    Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Sep. 2024
Noun
  • Conventional metal satellites create aluminum oxide particles during re-entry, but wooden ones would burn up with less pollution, Doi said.
    Reuters, NBC News, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Conventional metal satellites create aluminum oxide particles during re-entry, but wooden ones would just burn up with less pollution, Doi said.
    Reuters, CNN, 5 Nov. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near patch

Cite this Entry

“Patch.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patch. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

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