patch
part of speech
noun (a patch, patches); verb (patch, patches, patched, patching — patch up)
meaning for a pupil
1) A patch is a small piece of material sewn or stuck over a hole or a worn place, like on the knee of jeans. tree →
2) A patch is a small area that looks different from what is around it, like a wet patch or a patch of ice. tree →
3) A patch is a small piece of land for growing things, like a vegetable patch. tree →
4) An eye patch is a cover worn over one eye. tree →
5) A patch is a sticky piece put on the skin that slowly gives medicine. tree →
6) To patch means to mend with a patch, or to make a quick repair. tree →
7) To patch things up means to make friends again after an argument. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: Here "patched up" means mended with pieces of cloth. The Gibeonites wore patched clothes and worn sacks to look like travelers from far away. Interpretation: The tradition reads this as a clever trick. Israel made a treaty without asking God, and the Gibeonites became woodcutters and water-carriers for the Tabernacle. In the primary lessons: Everyday and safety: watch out for patches of ice on paths in winter; tyres get patched when punctured; badges are sewn on as patches (like Scout and Guide badges). In science and nature: animals with patches of colour, sunny and shady patches. In feelings: «a rough patch» is a hard time; friends «patch things up». On computers, a «patch» is a small update that fixes problems. Phrases: «a patch of», «vegetable patch», «pumpkin patch», «patch up», «a rough patch», «not a patch on» (nowhere near as good as).
examples
- they also did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine skins, worn and rent and patched up; (Prophets JOS.9.4, JPS 1917) tree →
- Mum sewed a patch on the knee of my trousers. tree →
- Be careful of the icy patch on the path. tree →
- We grow carrots in our vegetable patch. tree →
- The pirate wore an eye patch. tree →
- We went to the pumpkin patch to choose a pumpkin. tree →
- The dog has a white patch over one eye. tree →
- Dad patched the hole in my bike tyre. tree →
- After the argument they patched things up. tree →
- The computer needs a security patch. tree →
- ‘Here are some shoes for you to patch.’ tree →
note
Plural and verb with he/she/it: «patches». Past: «patched». «Not a patch on» (UK) means much worse than. A «patchy» thing is uneven, with bits here and there (patchy fog).
In the corpora
- A rough patch is a hard time in a relationship, with more arguing or unhappiness, and many couples come through it.
- The glasswing butterfly has clear patches on its wings with few scales, which makes it hard to see against leaves and flowers.
- In summer the tundra has huge swarms of mosquitoes, so thick that caribou run to windy hills or snow patches to escape them.
- The white patches of a variegated leaf have no chlorophyll and make no food, so such plants often grow more slowly.
- "Going through a rough patch" can mean being depressed or in a mental health crisis, or simply having a hard time.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «patch» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.