Patch up means to repair something quickly or to settle a quarrel and become friends again, and it also describes treating a wound. To use patch up in a sentence, name what is being repaired or who is making peace: “They patched up the shed before the storm.” The verb is separable, so a pronoun goes in the middle.
Patch up at a glance
- Patch up is a transitive phrasal verb; it always needs an object to repair or two people to reconcile.
- It is separable: a noun object may follow the particle or sit between the verb and up.
- A pronoun object must sit in the middle, so patch it up is correct and patch up it is wrong.
- The three everyday senses are repairing an object, restoring a relationship, and treating a wound.
- The register is informal to neutral, which suits conversation, email and news features.
- The hyphenated noun patch-up names a quick, often temporary repair.
What does patch up mean?
Patch up is a phrasal verb meaning to repair something quickly, to restore a relationship after a quarrel, or to give a wound quick treatment. The Cambridge entry for patch up records the repair and reconciliation senses, and the three uses stay apart because the object changes: a thing is patched up, a quarrel is patched up, and a person is patched up when injured.
| Sense | Plain meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| Repair a thing | Fix something quickly, often roughly | Dad patched up the fence after the storm. |
| Reconcile people | End a quarrel and restore friendly relations | The brothers patched up their differences. |
| Treat an injury | Give quick medical treatment to a wound | The nurse patched up his knee and sent him home. |
One limitation is worth stating plainly. Patch up implies a quick or temporary fix, not a thorough one, so a watch that is patched up may stop again next week. Where the repair is careful and lasting, mend is the better verb, and where the damage is to cloth or knitting, darn is the precise choice. Patch up also says nothing about quality; it only says the damage is covered for now.
How do you use patch up in a sentence?
Patch up is a separable phrasal verb, so a noun object can follow the particle or sit between the two parts: patch up the quarrel or patch the quarrel up. The particle can be stranded after a noun, but a pronoun object must go in the middle, so write patch it up and never patch up it. The verb is transitive, so it always needs something to repair or two people to reconcile.
| Pattern | Example | What it signals |
|---|---|---|
| patch up + noun | They patched up the old shed. | Object after the particle. |
| patch + noun + up | They patched the old shed up. | Object between verb and particle. |
| patch + pronoun + up | They patched it up. | The pronoun must sit in the middle. |
| patch things up | The sisters patched things up over tea. | Fixed phrase for reconciliation. |
| patch + somebody + up | The medic patched him up quickly. | Treating a person’s injury. |
| be patched up | The roof was patched up with tar. | Passive; a hasty repair. |
Where the point is restoring a relationship rather than covering damage, reconcile is the formal synonym, and where a wound closes on its own, heal is the verb that describes it. Patch up keeps its rough, practical edge in all three senses.
Patch up in a sentence: examples across contexts
| Context | Example sentence | Why this works |
|---|---|---|
| Home and garden | We patched up the fence with a spare plank. | A concrete object shows the repair sense. |
| Family conversation | The sisters patched things up at the wedding. | The fixed phrase names reconciliation. |
| First aid | The coach patched up the player’s graze and sent her back on. | The person is the object, so the injury sense is clear. |
| Workplace email | We patched up the schedule after the delay. | An abstract object extends the repair sense. |
| News feature | The two leaders patched up their dispute before the summit. | The reconciliation sense in public life. |
| Car repair | He patched the exhaust up with wire and hoped for the best. | The object between verb and particle, with a hint of makeshift work. |
| Friendship | They had a row and patched it up the next day. | The pronoun sits in the middle, as the grammar requires. |
| Sports report | The manager patched up his defence for the cup tie. | The figurative repair of a team, not a physical object. |
| Bookkeeping | They patched up the accounts before the audit. | The verb covers a rushed, temporary fix of records. |
Patch up vs make up
Patch up and make up both describe restoring peace, but only patch up keeps the damage in view, and make up has several unrelated senses.
| Attribute | patch up | make up |
|---|---|---|
| Core meaning | Repair damage or reconcile | Reconcile, or invent, or apply cosmetics |
| Focus | The damaged thing or the rift | The restored relationship |
| Implies | A rough, often temporary fix | A full return to friendship |
| Typical object | a roof, a wound, a quarrel | after an argument, a story, your face |
| Other senses | None common | Invent, compensate, cosmetics |
| Register | Informal to neutral | Informal |
Verdict: choose patch up when something broken, or a quarrel between people, is mended, and make up when the point is the reconciliation itself or one of its many other senses. Because make up is crowded with meanings, patch up is the clearer verb whenever repair is meant.
Word forms and grammar of patch up
| Form | Part of speech | Example |
|---|---|---|
| patch up | phrasal verb, base | We should patch up the old fence. |
| patches up | third person singular | She patches up quarrels at work. |
| patched up | past and past participle | They patched up the argument quickly. |
| patching up | present participle | He is patching up the shed roof. |
| patch-up | noun, attributive | The repair was only a patch-up job. |
| patchup | non-standard | Write the verb as two words, patch up. |
Other phrasal verbs with up behave differently, so the particle is not a reliable guide. add up, for instance, is intransitive in its main sense and cannot take the same objects, which is why each verb has to be learned with its own pattern. Where a lasting repair is meant, the single verb repair removes all the ambiguity of the phrasal form.
Common mistakes with patch up
- Incorrect:
They patched up it before winter.Correct: They patched it up before winter. Rule: a pronoun object must sit between the verb and the particle. - Incorrect:
The two friends patched up.Correct: The two friends patched up their quarrel. Rule: patch up is transitive and needs an object. - Incorrect:
The brothers patched up the fight.Correct: The brothers patched up their differences. Rule: patch up reconciles people or their differences, not the fight itself. - Incorrect:
The wound was patch up at the clinic.Correct: The wound was patched up at the clinic. Rule: after be, use the past participle patched up. - Incorrect:
They made a patchup of the roof.Correct: They did a quick patch-up job on the roof. Rule: as a noun, patch-up is hyphenated.
Practice using patch up
- Fill the blank: The boys fell out but managed to ______ things ______ before the trip.
- Choose the better word: The nurse (patched up / made up) the graze and bandaged it.
- Correct the error: We patched up it with tape and hoped it would hold.
- Build a sentence: use patch up about two neighbours who argue over a fence.
- Spot the register: which belongs in an email to a teacher, We patched up our differences after the debate, or We made friends again after the ruckus?
- Rewrite with the noun: They patched up the shed. Use patch-up job instead.
Answers
- patch things up: the fixed phrase names reconciliation.
- patched up: a wound is treated, and make up does not have that sense here.
- We patched it up with tape: the pronoun must go between the verb and the particle.
- Model answer: The neighbours patched up their quarrel over the fence before winter.
- We patched up our differences after the debate: an email to a teacher keeps the neutral phrase.
- They did a patch-up job on the shed: the hyphenated noun means a quick repair.
The bottom line
Use patch up in a sentence to repair something quickly, to restore a relationship, or to treat a wound, and keep the object close to the verb. The two points that decide most sentences are that a pronoun goes between patch and up, and that the wording always suggests a hasty or temporary fix rather than a lasting repair. When the mend is meant to last, a single verb such as repair or mend carries the meaning more cleanly.
Frequently asked questions about patch up
Is patch up separable?
Yes. A noun object may follow the particle or sit between the two parts, so both patch up the quarrel and patch the quarrel up are correct. A pronoun object, however, must go in the middle: patch it up. Writing patch up it is the mistake learners make most often, and it never sounds right.
What does patch up mean when people use it?
Patch up has three everyday senses: to repair an object roughly, to restore a relationship after a quarrel, and to give a wound quick treatment. Context makes the sense clear because the object changes. A roof is patched up, two friends patch things up, and a nurse patches up a graze.
Is patch up the same as make up?
Not quite. Patch up usually points at the damage or the rift being repaired, often in a rough or temporary way. Make up points at the reconciliation itself and has several other senses, from inventing a story to applying cosmetics. Use make up when only the restored friendship matters.
Can patch up be used in formal writing?
Patch up is informal to neutral, so it suits conversation, email and news features rather than contracts. In formal writing, repair a structure and reconcile the parties are the safer choices. The compound noun patch-up job is slightly more formal and appears in workplace and journalism contexts.
Have you ever needed to patch up a hole in your favorite pair of jeans or mend a broken vase? When we “patch up” something, we are repairing or fixing it to make it whole and functional again.
In everyday life, we often encounter situations where we need to patch up something, whether it’s a relationship, an item, or even a plan. So let’s explore the concept of “patch up” and how it plays a role in various aspects of our day-to-day experiences.
7 Examples Of Patch Up Used In a Sentence For Kids
- Patch up the hole in the teddy bear’s arm with a bandage.
- Let’s patch up the torn book page with tape.
- The teacher helped us patch up our friendship after a fight.
- Patch up the broken toy car using glue.
- My mom can easily patch up my ripped dress with a sewing kit.
- We can patch up the torn paper by using colorful stickers.
- The doctor will patch up your scraped knee with a band-aid.
14 Sentences with Patch Up Examples
- Patch up with your roommate after a disagreement.
- It’s important to patch up with your group members to finish the project on time.
- Don’t let silly arguments ruin your friendship; always be ready to patch up.
- Sometimes you have to patch up with your professors after missing an important deadline.
- If you patch up with your lab partner, you’ll have a better chance at acing the experiment.
- Learning to patch up with classmates can help create a supportive study group.
- Make sure to patch up with your romantic partner before heading into exams to avoid added stress.
- It’s easier to patch up with friends now than regret it later.
- Remember to patch up with your family even when you’re caught up with college life.
- Don’t hesitate to patch up with your teammates to improve your sports performance.
- Take the initiative to patch up with your study buddy after a misunderstanding.
- Before the end of the semester, it’s essential to patch up any conflicts with classmates.
- Find time to patch up with your mentor for valuable guidance.
- After a heated debate in a student organization, it’s important to patch up with your fellow members.
How To Use Patch Up in Sentences?
Patch Up can be used to express the idea of repairing or fixing something. Patch Up is typically followed by the object that is being fixed. For example, “She needed to patch up the hole in her sweater.” In this sentence, the phrase Patch Up means to mend or repair the hole in the sweater.
A common mistake when using Patch Up is forgetting to include the object that needs to be repaired. It is important to clearly identify what is being fixed to avoid confusion. For instance, instead of saying “They patched up,” it is better to say “They patched up their relationship.” This clarifies what is being repaired or fixed.
It is also essential to pay attention to the tense when using Patch Up. Depending on the context, it may be necessary to adjust the verb tense accordingly. For example, “I will patch up my old jeans” indicates a future action, while “She patched up the torn paper” describes a past action.
In summary, when using Patch Up in a sentence, remember to include the object that is being repaired, pay attention to the verb tense, and ensure clarity in your expression. With these tips in mind, you can effectively incorporate Patch Up into your language usage.
Conclusion
In conclusion, “patch up” refers to repairing or restoring something, often used in the context of relationships or fixing physical objects like clothes. When people “patch up” a disagreement, they resolve their differences and make amends. Similarly, when a piece of clothing is “patched up,” it means it has been mended or fixed to restore its functionality. This term denotes an act of repair, improvement, or reconciliation, highlighting the efforts made to mend what is broken or damaged. Whether it’s patching up a friendship, a relationship, or a tear in fabric, the concept of “patching up” emphasizes the importance of addressing and resolving issues to restore harmony and functionality.
