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patch

patch

153 2.7
A small area that looks different from the area around it, like a spot of color
  • noun
  • /pætʃ/
: mancha
  • We discovered a small patch of wild strawberries growing by the trail.
  • a patch of ground
  • a patch of green
  • dark patches

You'll always see me with green patches in the morning, always.

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Examples

  • Nearby, a dark soil patch indicates a trench between what appears to be more round postholes.

    Academic text (2011)
  • You wake up knee high on the grass patch in the backyard.

  • And you could spend an hour just looking at that tiny patch, that wonder.

  • But after that, I ran into patches of forest, and it was easier going.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • We may have to buy a little patch of sod there.

  • The car was there, parked just off the road in a patch of young cedars.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • I tromped through the pumpkin patch.

  • The state also combined many small patches of land into more farmable fields.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Not even ants moved in the ragged patches of grass around the giant shade sycamores.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • The path peters out into a rutted, sandy patch of weeds and empties us into the grove.

    Academic text (1999)

Synonyms

spot
vspatch
297 1.0

A small round mark on a surface, for example on a card or dice

is the broader term for any small different area of color or ground
plot
vspatch
81 1.9

A small piece of land used to grow plants or vegetables

is any small different area that may be natural or unmarked
fleck
vspatch
24 4.3

A very small spot that stands out on a surface

is a larger or more noticeable different area rather than tiny bits
plot of land
vspatch
11 3.0

A small piece of ground for growing plants or building on

is the general small distinct area, not only reserved land
piece of ground
vspatch
3 2.8

An area of land used for something, like a garden or park

is any small different area that might be color or ground
speckle
vspatch
3 3.4

A small spot of a different color on a surface

is usually a single small different area rather than many tiny marks
vegetable patch
vspatch
  • UK
2 2.0

A small area in a garden where people grow vegetables

is a small different area not limited to vegetables or gardens
plot of ground
vspatch
  • UK
1 2.3

A small piece of land used for growing plants

is a small different area in general, not always for planting
dapple
vspatch
1 8.4

A small patch of a different color on something

is the general small different area not only limited to color spots
maculation
vspatch
  • Specialized
9.8

A small spot that looks different from its background

is the general small different area not limited to biological markings

Antonyms

52 4.7

A situation where things stay the same or keep happening without big changes

uniformity
  • Specialized
18 4.6

The state of being the same in all parts

Idioms

To go through a short time with problems after a good time

Compounds

3 7.9

A small area of hair just under the lower lip above the chin

2 2.0

A small area in a garden where people grow vegetables

1 4.2

A cloth badge on a uniform shoulder showing rank or group

briar-patch
  • Informal
1 9.1

A difficult situation with many problems that is hard to leave

1 8.1

A thick area of prickly bushes that can scratch you

1 4.9

A flat pocket sewn onto the outside of a jacket or shirt

skin patch
  • Specialized
1 3.7

A small sticky pad that slowly sends medicine into the body

estradiol patch
  • Specialized
6.3

A small sticky medicine you put on your skin to replace the female hormone estradiol

patch test
  • Specialized
3.6

A test that puts small sticky pads with substances on skin to check for allergy

patch test
  • Specialized
3.5

A test that checks a software update works and does not cause new bugs

Peyer's patch
  • Specialized
9.1

A small area of tissue in the small intestine that helps the body fight germs

transdermal patch
  • Specialized
4.6

A sticky pad put on the skin that sends medicine into the blood slowly

skin patch
  • Specialized
3.5

A small sticky pad with sensors that record or send health data

How Large

region
977 2.0
area
∞ 1.0
patch
153 2.7
spot
297 1.0
speck
66 1.3

Surface Forms

patch singular
patches plural

Etymology

Patch originally meant a small 'piece' of cloth, and people began to use it for any small area that looks different from what is around it. That's why we talk about a patch of color, grass, or ice as a small, separate spot.