patch

1. (specifically) A small area, a small plot of land or piece of ground.Examples: "scattered patches of trees or growing corn"; "There was a blackberry patch down by the creek, and his grandparents called the pasture down there the cow patch."; "Just the suggestion that a good blueberry patch was near would bring everything to a standstill."Synonyms: tractspecifically

2. (historical) A small piece of black silk stuck on the face or neck to heighten beauty by contrast, worn by ladies in the 17th and 18th centuries; an imitation beauty mark.Examples: "Your black patches you wear variously."; "...Then the patches had to be placed—patches full of sentiment, coquetry, and bits of opinions as minute as themselves. Essences and powder had to he scattered together, and Henrietta's long black tresses gathered into a mass which might fairly set all the orders of architecture at defiance."Synonyms: beauty spothistorical

3. (medicine) A piece of material used to cover a wound.

4. (medicine) An adhesive piece of material, impregnated with a drug, which is worn on the skin, the drug being slowly absorbed over a period of time.Examples: "Many people use a nicotine patch to wean themselves off of nicotine."

5. (medicine) A cover worn over a damaged eye, an eyepatch.Examples: "He had scratched his cornea so badly that his doctor told him to wear a patch."

6. (computing) A piece of data intended to modify a computer file by replacing a part of it.Examples: "Immediately following the incident Siemens commissioned a software patch that will allow units which protectively shut down below 49Hz to recover themselves without the need of a reboot or laptop when the frequency rises to 49.5Hz. At the beginning of September, this patch was being verified by Siemens software engineers at Erlangen in Germany."