shoulder patch
1
4.2
- noun
- /ˈʃoʊldər pætʃ/
- US
:
parche de hombro
- I noticed her shoulder patch indicated she was a sergeant in the army.
- wearing a shoulder patch
Examples
-
Narrator 2: Each wounded soldier wears a jacket with a regimental shoulder patch.
Fiction book (1998) -
Chris DeLara is not the type of soldier to wear his heart on his sleeve, but the 1st Cavalry Division's shoulder patch is tattooed on his right forearm in a swirling piece of body art.
Blog text (11) -
The soldier proudly displayed his shoulder patch to signify his rank in the military.
-
Each member of the team wore a distinctive shoulder patch to represent their unit during the parade.
Synonyms
25
7.1
A badge worn to show official rank or group membership
1
6.8
A flat stiff piece worn on the shoulder to show rank in the military or police
A small cloth or badge on the shoulder of a uniform that shows rank
A cloth badge worn on the shoulder of a military uniform that shows a soldier's unit
A badge worn on a uniform that shows a person's military rank
A V-shaped badge on a sleeve that shows a military person's rank and years of service
How Official
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently built from 'shoulder' (a body/location) + 'patch' (a piece of material), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a patch worn on the shoulder. This noun–noun compounding pattern indicating location/function is common in English and other languages, making the expression immediately comprehensible to B1 learners.
Etymology
Shoulder patch comes from the simple idea of a patch sewn onto the shoulder of a uniform to show a soldier's 'rank' or 'group'. That's why it means a small badge on the shoulder that tells what unit or rank someone belongs to.