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Hack vs. Patch — What's the Difference?

Hack vs. Patch — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Hack and Patch

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Hack

Cut with rough or heavy blows
Men hack at the coalface
I watched them hack the branches

Patch

A small piece of material affixed to another, larger piece to conceal, reinforce, or repair a worn area, hole, or tear.

Hack

Gain unauthorized access to data in a system or computer
They hacked into the bank's computer
Someone hacked his computer from another location

Patch

A small piece of cloth used for patchwork.

Hack

Cough persistently
I was waking up in the middle of the night and coughing and hacking for hours
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Patch

A small cloth badge affixed to a garment as a decoration or an insignia, as of a military unit.

Hack

Manage; cope
Lots of people leave because they can't hack it

Patch

A dressing or covering applied to protect a wound or sore.

Hack

Ride a horse for pleasure or exercise
Some gentle hacking in a scenic setting

Patch

A pad or shield of cloth worn over an eye socket or an injured eye.

Hack

A rough cut, blow, or stroke
He was sure one of us was going to take a hack at him

Patch

A transdermal patch.

Hack

An act of computer hacking
The challenge of the hack itself

Patch

See beauty spot.

Hack

A writer or journalist producing dull, unoriginal work
Sunday newspaper hacks earn their livings on such gullibilities

Patch

A small piece, part, or section, especially that which differs from or contrasts with the whole
A patch of thin ice.
Patches of sunlight.

Hack

A horse for ordinary riding.

Patch

A small plot or piece of land, especially one that produces or is used for growing specific vegetation
A briar patch.
A bean patch.

Hack

A taxi.

Patch

An indefinite period of time; a spell
Weathered a difficult patch after losing his job.

Hack

A board on which a hawk's meat is laid.

Patch

A temporary, removable electronic connection, as one between two components in a communications system.

Hack

A wooden frame for drying bricks, cheeses, etc.

Patch

(Computers) A piece of code added to software in order to fix a bug, especially as a temporary correction between two releases.

Hack

To cut or chop with repeated and irregular blows
Hacked down the saplings.

Patch

To put a patch or patches on
Patched my pants.

Hack

To make or shape by hitting or chopping with a sharp implement
Hacked a trail through the forest.

Patch

To make by sewing scraps of material together
Patch a quilt.

Hack

To break up the surface of (soil).

Patch

To mend, repair, or put together, especially hastily, clumsily, or poorly
They patched together the broken statues with glue and plaster. The delegates will be forced to patch up their differences.

Hack

To alter (a computer program)
Hacked her text editor to read HTML.

Patch

To connect temporarily (electronic components), as with a patch cord.

Hack

To gain access to (a computer file or network) illegally or without authorization
Hacked the firm's personnel database.

Patch

(Computers) To correct a bug in (an item of software), especially as a temporary correction between releases.

Hack

(Slang) To cut or mutilate as if by hacking
Hacked millions off the budget.

Patch

(Electronics) To be connected temporarily.

Hack

(Slang) To cope with successfully; manage
Couldn't hack a second job.

Patch

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.

Hack

To chop or cut something by hacking.

Patch

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.

Hack

To write or refine computer programs skillfully.

Patch

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.

Hack

To use one's skill in computer programming to gain illegal or unauthorized access to a file or network
Hacked into the company's intranet.

Patch

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.
Doesn't that patch of clouds looks like a bunny?
When ice skating, be sure to stay away from reeds: there are always thin patches of ice there, and you could fall through.

Hack

To cough roughly or harshly.

Patch

A small area, a small plot of land or piece of ground.
Scattered patches of trees or growing corn.

Hack

To let out (a horse) for hire.

Patch

A local region of professional responsibility.

Hack

To make banal or hackneyed with indiscriminate use.

Patch

(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.

Hack

To drive a taxicab for a living.

Patch

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

Hack

To work for hire as a writer.

Patch

(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.
Many people use a nicotine patch to wean themselves off of nicotine.

Hack

To ride on horseback at an ordinary pace.

Patch

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

Hack

A rough, irregular cut made by hacking.

Patch

A block on the muzzle of a gun, to do away with the effect of dispart, in sighting.

Hack

A tool, such as a hoe, used for hacking.

Patch

(computing) A patch file, a file that describes changes to be made to a computer file or files, usually changes made to a computer program that fix a programming bug.

Hack

A blow made by hacking.

Patch

(firearms) A small piece of material that is manually passed through a gun barrel to clean it.

Hack

An attempt to hit a baseball; a swing of the bat.

Patch

(firearms) A piece of greased cloth or leather used as wrapping for a rifle ball, to make it fit the bore.

Hack

An instance of gaining unauthorized access to a computer file or network.

Patch

A cable connecting two pieces of electrical equipment.
Soundboard patch

Hack

A program that makes use of existing often proprietary software, adding new features to it.

Patch

(music) A sound setting for a musical synthesizer (originally selected by means of a patch cable).

Hack

A clever modification or improvement.

Patch

An overlay used to obtain a stronger impression.

Hack

A rough, dry cough.

Patch

A butterfly of the genus Chlosyne.

Hack

A horse used for riding or driving; a hackney.

Patch

(archaic) A paltry fellow; a rogue; a ninny; a fool.

Hack

A worn-out horse for hire; a jade.

Patch

To mend by sewing on a piece or pieces of cloth, leather, or the like
My coat needs patching.

Hack

One who undertakes unpleasant or distasteful tasks for money or reward; a hireling.

Patch

To mend with pieces; to repair by fastening pieces on.

Hack

A writer hired to produce routine or commercial writing.

Patch

To make out of pieces or patches, like a quilt.

Hack

A carriage or hackney for hire.

Patch

To join or unite the pieces of; to patch the skirt.

Hack

A taxicab.

Patch

To employ a temporary, removable electronic connection, as one between two components in a communications system.

Hack

See hackie.

Patch

(generally with the particle "up") To repair or arrange in a hasty or clumsy manner
The truce between the two countries has been patched up.

Hack

By, characteristic of, or designating routine or commercial writing
Hack prose.

Patch

(computing) To make the changes a patch describes; to apply a patch to the files in question. Hence:

Hack

Hackneyed; banal.

Patch

To fix or improve a computer program without a complete upgrade.

Hack

(transitive) To chop or cut down in a rough manner.
They hacked the brush down and made their way through the jungle.

Patch

To make a quick and possibly temporary change to a program.

Hack

(intransitive) To cough noisily.
This cold is awful. I can't stop hacking.

Patch

To connect two pieces of electrical equipment using a cable.
I'll need to patch the preamp output to the mixer.

Hack

To withstand or put up with a difficult situation.
Can you hack it out here with no electricity or running water?

Patch

A piece of cloth, or other suitable material, sewed or otherwise fixed upon a garment to repair or strengthen it, esp. upon an old garment to cover a hole.
Patches set upon a little breach.

Hack

(computing) To make a quick code change to patch a computer program, often one that, while being effective, is inelegant or makes the program harder to maintain.
I hacked in a fix for this bug, but we'll still have to do a real fix later.

Patch

A small piece of anything used to repair a breach; as, a patch on a kettle, a roof, etc.

Hack

(computing) To accomplish a difficult programming task.
He can hack like no one else and make the program work as expected.

Patch

A small piece of black silk stuck on the face, or neck, to hide a defect, or to heighten beauty.
Your black patches you wear variously.

Hack

To work with something on an intimately technical level.
I'm currently hacking distributed garbage collection.

Patch

A piece of greased cloth or leather used as wrapping for a rifle ball, to make it fit the bore.

Hack

To apply a trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method to something to increase productivity, efficiency or ease.
I read up on dating tips so I can hack my sex life.

Patch

Fig.: Anything regarded as a patch; a small piece of ground; a tract; a plot; as, scattered patches of trees or growing corn.
Employed about this patch of ground.

Hack

To hack into; to gain unauthorized access to (a computer system, e.g., a website, or network) by manipulating code.

Patch

A block on the muzzle of a gun, to do away with the effect of dispart, in sighting.

Hack

To gain unauthorised access to a computer or online account belonging to (a person or organisation).
When I logged into the social network, I discovered I'd been hacked.

Patch

A paltry fellow; a rogue; a ninny; a fool.

Hack

To cheat by using unauthorized modifications.
That player must be hacking, they got so many kills last game.

Patch

To mend by sewing on a piece or pieces of cloth, leather, or the like; as, to patch a coat.

Hack

(ice hockey) To strike an opponent with one's hockey stick, typically on the leg but occasionally and more seriously on the back, arm, head, etc.
He's going to the penalty box after hacking the defender in front of the goal.
Jensen gets a 5 minute major penalty for hacking Orsov in the back.

Patch

To mend with pieces; to repair with pieces festened on; to repair clumsily; as, to patch the roof of a house.

Hack

(ice hockey) To make a flailing attempt to hit the puck with a hockey stick.
There's a scramble in front of the net as the forwards are hacking at the bouncing puck.

Patch

To adorn, as the face, with a patch or patches.
Ladies who patched both sides of their faces.

Hack

(baseball) To swing at a pitched ball.
He went to the batter's box hacking.

Patch

To make of pieces or patches; to repair as with patches; to arrange in a hasty or clumsy manner; - generally with up; as, to patch up a truce.

Hack

(soccer and rugby) To kick (a player) on the shins.

Patch

A small contrasting part of something;
A bald spot
A leopard's spots
A patch of clouds
Patches of thin ice
A fleck of red

Hack

To strike in a frantic movement.

Patch

A small area of ground covered by specific vegetation;
A bean plot
A cabbage patch
A briar patch

Hack

(transitive) To strike lightly as part of tapotement massage.

Patch

A piece of cloth used as decoration or to mend or cover a hole

Hack

To lay (bricks) on a rack to dry.

Patch

A period of indeterminate length (usually short) marked by some action or condition;
He was here for a little while
I need to rest for a piece
A spell of good weather
A patch of bad weather

Hack

(falconry) To keep (young hawks) in a state of partial freedom, before they are trained.

Patch

A short set of commands to correct a bug in a computer program

Hack

(dated) To make common or cliched; to vulgarise.

Patch

A connection intended to be used for a limited time

Hack

(horses) To ride a horse at a regular pace; to ride on a road (as opposed to riding cross-country etc.).

Patch

Sewing or darning that repairs a worn or torn hole (especially in a garment);
Her stockings had several mends

Hack

(obsolete) To live the life of a drudge or hack.

Patch

A protective cloth covering for an injured eye

Hack

To use as a hack; to let out for hire.

Patch

A piece of soft material that covers and protects an injured part of the body

Hack

To use frequently and indiscriminately, so as to render trite and commonplace.

Patch

To join or unite the pieces of;
Patch the skirt

Hack

To drive a hackney cab.

Patch

Provide with a patch; also used metaphorically;
The field was patched with snow

Hack

To play hackeysack.

Patch

Mend by putting a patch on;
Patch a hole

Hack

A tool for chopping.

Patch

Repair by adding pieces;
She pieced the china cup

Hack

A hacking blow.

Hack

A gouge or notch made by such a blow.

Hack

A dry cough.

Hack

A hacking; a catch in speaking; a short, broken cough.

Hack

(figuratively) A try, an attempt.

Hack

(curling) The foothold traditionally cut into the ice from which the person who throws the rock pushes off for delivery.

Hack

(obsolete) A mattock or a miner's pickaxe.

Hack

(informal) An improvised device or solution to a problem.
Luckily for us J company picked us up in their hack — two snowmobiles with a big inflatable raft strapped between them.

Hack

An expedient, temporary solution, such as a small patch or change to code, meant to be replaced with a more elegant solution at a later date; a workaround.
Valleysoft released a hack yesterday to fix the "crashes when more than 50 recipients" bug for people who need it right away. The company says its next release will also solve this as well as add new features.

Hack

A computer programmer who makes quick but inelegant changes to computer code to solve problems or add features.
Tsang is great but Zhou is such a hack — I wouldn't want him on my project.

Hack

A computer programmer, particularly a veteran or someone not immediately expected to be capable of programming.
Terry wrote that module? I didn't know she was a hack too!

Hack

An interesting technical achievement, particularly in computer programming.
Flugensoft came out with a neat hack last week that allows your watch to warm up your car if it's below freezing outside.

Hack

(colloquial) A trick, shortcut, skill, or novelty method to increase productivity, efficiency, or ease.
Putting your phone in a sandwich bag when you go to the beach is such a great hack.

Hack

An illegal attempt to gain access to a computer network.

Hack

A video game or any computer software that has been altered from its original state.

Hack

Time check, as for example upon synchronization of wristwatches.

Hack

(ice hockey) The act of striking an opponent with one's hockey stick, typically on the leg but occasionally and more seriously on the back, arm, head, etc.
Zersky is still down after that nasty hack by Lenner.

Hack

(baseball) A swing of the bat at a pitched ball by the batter, particularly a choppy, ungraceful one that misses the ball such as at a fastball.
And Melnick goes down with one last hack at an O'Malley fastball.

Hack

A kick on the shins in football of any type.
Wales are awarded a free kick after a minor hack by Järvinen on Llewellyn.

Hack

Confinement of an officer to their stateroom as a punishment.

Hack

An airplane of poor quality or in poor condition.

Hack

(falconry) A board which the falcon's food is placed on; used by extension for the state of partial freedom in which they are kept before being trained.

Hack

A food-rack for cattle.

Hack

A rack used to dry something, such as bricks, fish, or cheese.

Hack

A grating in a mill race.

Hack

A horse for hire, especially one which is old and tired.

Hack

A person, often a journalist, hired to do routine work.
I got by on hack work for years before I finally published my novel.

Hack

(pejorative) Someone who is available for hire; hireling, mercenary.

Hack

(slang) A taxicab (hackney cab) driver.

Hack

A vehicle let for hire; originally, a hackney coach, now typically a taxicab.

Hack

A hearse.

Hack

An untalented writer.
Dason is nothing but a two-bit hack.
He's nothing but the typical hack writer.

Hack

(pejorative) One who is professionally successful despite producing mediocre work. (Usually applied to persons in a creative field.)

Hack

(pejorative) A talented writer-for-hire, paid to put others' thoughts into felicitous language.

Hack

A political agitator.

Hack

A person who frequently canvasses for votes, either directly or by appearing to continuously act with the ulterior motive of furthering their political career.

Hack

(obsolete) A writer who hires himself out for any sort of literary work; an overworked man; a drudge.

Hack

(obsolete) A procuress.

Hack

A small ball usually made of woven cotton or suede and filled with rice, sand or some other filler, for use in hackeysack.

Hack

A frame or grating of various kinds; as, a frame for drying bricks, fish, or cheese; a rack for feeding cattle; a grating in a mill race, etc.

Hack

Unburned brick or tile, stacked up for drying.

Hack

A notch; a cut.

Hack

An implement for cutting a notch; a large pick used in breaking stone.

Hack

A hacking; a catch in speaking; a short, broken cough.

Hack

A kick on the shins, or a cut from a kick.

Hack

A clever computer program or routine within a program to accomplish an objective in a non-obvious fashion.

Hack

A quick and inelegant, though functional solution to a programming problem.

Hack

A taxicab.

Hack

A horse, hackneyed or let out for common hire; also, a horse used in all kinds of work, or a saddle horse, as distinguished from hunting and carriage horses.

Hack

A coach or carriage let for hire; a hackney coach; formerly, a coach with two seats inside facing each other; now, usually a taxicab.
On horse, on foot, in hacks and gilded chariots.

Hack

The driver of a hack; a taxi driver; a hackman.

Hack

A bookmaker who hires himself out for any sort of literary work; an overworked man; a drudge.
Here lies poor Ned Purdon, from misery freed,Who long was a bookseller's hack.

Hack

A procuress.

Hack

To cut irregulary, without skill or definite purpose; to notch; to mangle by repeated strokes of a cutting instrument; as, to hack a post.
My sword hacked like a handsaw.

Hack

Fig.: To mangle in speaking.

Hack

To program (a computer) for pleasure or compulsively; especially, to try to defeat the security systems and gain unauthorized access to a computer.

Hack

To bear, physically or emotionally; as, he left the job because he couldn't hack the pressure.

Hack

To kick the shins of (an opposing payer).

Hack

To cough faintly and frequently, or in a short, broken manner; as, a hacking cough.

Hack

To ride or drive as one does with a hack horse; to ride at an ordinary pace, or over the roads, as distinguished from riding across country or in military fashion.

Hack

To use as a hack; to let out for hire.

Hack

To use frequently and indiscriminately, so as to render trite and commonplace.
The word "remarkable" has been so hacked of late.

Hack

To be exposed or offered to common use for hire; to turn prostitute.

Hack

To live the life of a drudge or hack.

Hack

Hackneyed; hired; mercenary.

Hack

One who works hard at boring tasks

Hack

A politician who belongs to a small clique that controls a political party for private rather than public ends

Hack

A mediocre and disdained writer

Hack

A tool (as a hoe or pick or mattock) used for hacking the soil

Hack

A car driven by a person whose job is to take passengers where they want to go in exchange for money

Hack

An old or over-worked horse

Hack

A horse kept for hire

Hack

A saddle horse used for transportation rather than sport etc.

Hack

Cut with a hacking tool

Hack

Informal: be able to manage or manage successfully;
I can't hack it anymore
She could not cut the long days in the office

Hack

Cut away;
He hacked with way through the forest

Hack

Kick on the arms

Hack

Kick on the shins

Hack

Fix a computer program piecemeal until it works;
I'm not very good at hacking but I'll give it my best

Hack

Significantly cut up a manuscript

Hack

Cough spasmodically;
The patient with emphysema is hacking all day

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