PATCHES Synonyms: 186 Similar and Opposite Words

patches 1 of 2

noun

plural of patch

as in blotches

a small area that is different (as in color) from the main part a black cat with a small patch of white next to her nose

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as in specks

a very small piece a patch of land hardly big enough for a garden

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patches

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of patch

as in repairs

to put into good shape or working order again patch the tire and it'll be as good as new

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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 patches

Noun

The researchers grew the common research plant Arabidopsis thaliana in containers, some of which were dotted with patches of rotting apple. — Joanna Thompson, Scientific American, 17 Oct. 2026 Hormone replacement therapy can be delivered in a number of ways, including options like pills, patches, sprays or gels, or a vaginal ring that can deliver doses of hormones directly into the bloodstream. — Kerry Breen, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026 In recent months, estrogen products like transdermal patches have been hard for pharmacies to keep in stock. — Shannon Firth, NPR, 16 Oct. 2026 In a separate early-stage study of 22 patients with actinic keratosis, rough, precancerous skin patches caused by sun exposure, the company reported a 49% average reduction in lesions after 28 days of treatment. — Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026 Trimming vegetation around the foundation, keeping the grass short, and removing large patches of ivy and weeds eliminates overwintering opportunities for pests. — Nadia Hassani, The Spruce, 16 Oct. 2026 People with plaque psoriasis fight a constant battle with painful, flaky patches that can appear on some of the most visible parts of the skin. — Alice Park, Time, 15 Oct. 2026 By noon the sky seemed lighter, but a fresh wind kept patches of dust swirling in the street. — Gerald R. Hunter, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2026 Games like cornhole, ringer darts and Kubb — a lawn game involving teams tossing wooden blocks to knock over their opponents’ blocks — were set up on small turf patches. — Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 11 Oct. 2026

Verb

Not only are the shimmery gold patches a lush treat to look at, but the cooling hydrogels also feel relaxing after a long day. — Vivien Lee, InStyle, 15 Oct. 2026 Next, there is the issue of tarsal glands (the dark patches on the rear legs of a buck, below the knee joint). — Jack Hennessy, Outdoor Life, 23 Sep. 2026 By Childs’s count, Tuesday’s release patches 972 vulnerabilities, and 997 when counting the porting of fixes for the Chromium browser incorporated into Edge. — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 8 Sep. 2026 The unisex capsule, consisting of nine items, offers a nostalgic take on the history of F1, drawing on style icons like the late Ayrton Senna and the sponsor logo patches on drivers’ uniforms. — Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 7 Sep. 2026 To fix this issue, the FDA is leaning on manufacturers to step up and speed up production, adding shifts, expanding capacity, bringing on new lines and specialized equipment, and prioritizing estradiol patches ahead of other products. — Caitlin Kiernan, Flow Space, 4 Sep. 2026 Reps send payment links manually, RevOps patches data and Finance chases numbers that should’ve been captured upstream. — Ashish Srimal, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026 When Google publicly discloses and patches a flaw, details of exploiting the bug are often vague. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 30 July 2026 Through the agreement, the Jayhawks will sport XRP Cryptocurrency patches on every Kansas Athletics jersey, including for the KU men’s basketball team. — Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 8 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for patches

Noun

Juveniles can be distinguished by their dark facial bands and gray or tan body patterned with black or brown blotches.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Sep. 2026
Crews are also using steam to remove blotches of chewing gum, which have turned black over time.

— ABC News, ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of blotches

Noun

The source was generally in good condition, but mold spots and dense clusters of small white specks required careful treatment.

— Lin Ying-Hsuan, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
Breakouts can look like milder, painless white bumps or dark specks known as whiteheads and blackheads, or more painful red bumps and deeper cysts — a mark of cystic acne.

— Adithi Ramakrishnan, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of specks

Verb

In that dialogue, Endymion, the mythical shepherd, is imprisoned in an eternal sleep by Artemis and accosts a stranger who is on his way to Mount Latmus, where Endymion repairs each night to wait for Artemis.

— Max Norman, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
Israel bars entry of almost all construction materials, making even repairs difficult.

— Wafaa Shurafa, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of repairs

Noun

The oversized jacket featured a furry white base adorned with flecks of silver, which beautifully mirrored the sumptuous coats on the runway.

— Chanel Vargas, InStyle, 25 Sep. 2026
Add the torn basil and process just until incorporated -- there will be flecks of green in the mixture.

— ABC News, ABC News, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of flecks

Noun

O’Rourke and double bassist Johan Berthling shape a steady drone, while Ishibashi’s piano runs suggest time-lapse footage of ice crystals forming, ordinary little bits cohering into objects of wonder.

— Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 15 Oct. 2026
Cryptographers responded by lengthening the keys, and 2,048 bits is now considered the minimum.

— Chris Stokel-Walker, Scientific American, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of bits

Verb

If a customer fixes an address but later messages or decisions still use the old one, the correction may not have reached every system.

— Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
The gas used in the Holocaust used the same industrial chemistry that fixes nitrogen for the fertilizer that feeds most of the world.

— Stephen Messer, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of fixes

Noun

Those products are made with tiny particles that are more likely to be inhaled or absorbed by marine organisms.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
For example, when a credit card is fragmented into particles some 10 microns in diameter, there is a more than 200-fold increase in its surface area, says Wei Min, a chemist at Columbia University and one of the senior authors of the study.

— Payal Dhar, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2026