to patch up

Examples

• All

• After their argument, they decided to patch up their friendship over coffee.

• Ben and Rena patched up their differences and got married.

  Test Tube Teens from the Year 2000 (1994)

• Yeah, so we managed to patch things up.

  The Wiggles Movie (1997)

• What can we do to patch things up?

  The War of the Roses (1989)

• - You and Leo might still be able to patch things up.

  Miller's Crossing (1990)

• You got time to patch things up with your daughters.

  Grown Ups (2010)

• He called her to try and patch up their relationship.

  Diana: Life in Fashion (2022)

• She and Ronnie were having some problems so she flew down to patch things up.

  Wonderland (2003)

• PM Cameron has begun a diplomatic tour to patch up relations with the Gulf, with a billion-dollar arms deal on the cards.

  Blog text (23)

• She suggested they patch up their differences and work together on the project.

Synonyms

S

to settle

vsto patch up

596 3.3

To end an argument by agreement or decision

aims to restore friendly relations rather than only legally resolving conflict

M

to make up

vsto patch up

77 2.7

Become friends again after a fight

restores a relationship more broadly rather than only a casual reunion

R

to repair

vsto patch up

71 2.1

To try to make a damaged relationship or reputation better

centres on restoring personal relations after disagreement rather than general fixing

M

to make amends

vsto patch up

55 3.4

To do something to fix a mistake and show you are sorry

focuses on restoring the relationship itself rather than on corrective acts

R

to reconcile

vsto patch up

38 5.1

To become friendly again after a disagreement

is less formal and focuses on restoring relations between people

K

to kiss and make up

vsto patch up

• Informal

12 3.4

To become friendly again after an argument

restores or improves a relationship more deeply than a playful reconciliation

B

to bury the hatchet

vsto patch up

• Informal

12 3.7

Make peace with someone after an argument

restores the relationship without needing a formal forgiveness ritual

C

to conciliate

vsto patch up

1 7.9

To stop people being angry and make them friendly again

involves direct mutual restoration between people rather than third party mediation

R

to reknit

vsto patch up

7.2

Bring people back together after a break in their relationship

fixes or improves a relationship generally rather than rebuilding deep communal bonds

Antonyms

Q

to quarrel

35 2.6

To argue angrily with someone about small things

E

to estrange

• Formal

2 7.5

Make someone feel distant from family or friends

How Reconciled

to reconcile

38 5.1

to patch up

25 3.5

to make up

77 2.7

to apologize

• US

∞ 1.7

talk

947 1.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology