patch

1. A piece of cloth, or other suitable material, sewed or otherwise fixed upon a garment to repair or strengthen it, especially upon an old garment to cover a hole. · His sleeves had patches on the elbows where different fabric had been sewn on to replace material that had worn away.
2. A small piece of anything used to repair damage or a breach; as, a patch on a kettle, a roof, etc. · I can't afford to replace the roof, which is what it really needs. I'll have the roofer apply a patch.
3. A piece of any size, used to repair something for a temporary period only, or that it is temporary because it is not meant to last long or will be removed as soon as a proper repair can be made, which will happen in the near future. · Before you can fix a dam, you have to apply a patch to the hole so that everything can dry off.· "This patch should hold until you reach the city," the mechanic said as he patted the car's hood.
4. A small, usually contrasting but always somehow different or distinct, part of something else (location, time, size) · The world economy had a rough patch in the 1930s.· To me, a normal cow is white with black patches, but Sarah's from Texas and most of the cows there have solid brown, black, or red coats.
5. A small area, a small plot of land or piece of ground. · 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.
6. A local region of professional responsibility.
7. 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.
8. A piece of material used to cover a wound.

Plural patches