Patch vs. Stitch — What's the Difference?

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

A single complete movement of a threaded needle in sewing or surgical suturing

A small piece of cloth used for patchwork.

A single loop of thread or yarn made with an implement such as a sewing or knitting needle.

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

A single loop or knot of thread used in closing a wound or incision in surgery; a suture.

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

A way of arranging the threads in sewing, knitting, crocheting, or suturing

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

A sudden sharp pain, especially in the side.

A transdermal patch.

(Informal) An article of clothing

See beauty spot.

(Informal) The least part; a bit

A small piece, part, or section, especially that which differs from or contrasts with the whole

To fasten or join with stitches.

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

To mend or repair with stitches

An indefinite period of time; a spell

To decorate or ornament, as with stitches

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

To fasten together with staples or thread.

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

To make stitches; sew, knit, crochet, or suture.

To put a patch or patches on

A single pass of a needle in sewing; the loop or turn of the thread thus made.

To make by sewing scraps of material together

An arrangement of stitches in sewing, or method of stitching in some particular way or style.

To mend, repair, or put together, especially hastily, clumsily, or poorly

An intense stabbing pain under the lower edge of the ribcage, brought on by exercise.

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

A local sharp pain (anywhere); an acute pain, like the piercing of a needle.

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

A single turn of the thread round a needle in knitting; a link, or loop, of yarn

(Electronics) To be connected temporarily.

An arrangement of stitches in knitting, or method of knitting in some particular way or style.

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.

A space of work taken up, or gone over, in a single pass of the needle.

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

A fastening, as of thread or wire, through the back of a book to connect the pages.

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.

(by extension) Any space passed over; distance.

A small, usually contrasting but always somehow different or distinct, part of something else (location, time, size)

(obsolete) A contortion, or twist.

A small area, a small plot of land or piece of ground.

(colloquial) Any least part of a fabric or clothing.

A local region of professional responsibility.

(obsolete) A furrow.

(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.

The space between two double furrows.

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

To form stitches in; especially, to sew in such a manner as to show on the surface a continuous line of stitches.

(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.

To sew, or unite or attach by stitches.

(medicine) A cover worn over a damaged eye, an eyepatch.

(intransitive) To practice/practise stitching or needlework.

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

(agriculture) To form land into ridges.

(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.

To weld together through a series of connecting or overlapping spot welds.

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

To combine two or more photographs of the same scene into a single image.

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

(more generally) To include, combine, or unite into a single whole.

A cable connecting two pieces of electrical equipment.

A single pass of a needle in sewing; the loop or turn of the thread thus made.

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

A single turn of the thread round a needle in knitting; a link, or loop, of yarn; as, to let down, or drop, a stitch; to take up a stitch.

An overlay used to obtain a stronger impression.

A space of work taken up, or gone over, in a single pass of the needle; hence, by extension, any space passed over; distance.

A butterfly of the genus Chlosyne.

A local sharp pain; an acute pain, like the piercing of a needle; as, a stitch in the side.

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

A contortion, or twist.

To mend by sewing on a piece or pieces of cloth, leather, or the like

Any least part of a fabric or dress; as, to wet every stitch of clothes.

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

A furrow.

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

An arrangement of stitches, or method of stitching in some particular way or style; as, cross-stitch; herringbone stitch, etc.

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

To form stitches in; especially, to sew in such a manner as to show on the surface a continuous line of stitches; as, to stitch a shirt bosom.

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

To sew, or unite together by stitches; as, to stitch printed sheets in making a book or a pamphlet.

(generally with the particle "up") To repair or arrange in a hasty or clumsy manner

To form land into ridges.

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

To practice stitching, or needlework.

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

Sewing consisting of a link or loop or knot made by drawing a threaded needle through a fabric

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

A sharp spasm of pain in the side resulting from running

To connect two pieces of electrical equipment using a cable.

Fasten by sewing; do needlework

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To adorn, as the face, with a patch or patches.

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.

A small contrasting part of something;

A small area of ground covered by specific vegetation;

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

A period of indeterminate length (usually short) marked by some action or condition;

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

A connection intended to be used for a limited time

Sewing or darning that repairs a worn or torn hole (especially in a garment);

A protective cloth covering for an injured eye

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

To join or unite the pieces of;

Provide with a patch; also used metaphorically;

Mend by putting a patch on;

Repair by adding pieces;