Fix vs. Patch — What's the Difference?
By Fiza Rafique & Maham Liaqat — Updated on May 21, 2024
"Fix" refers to resolving a problem or correcting an error, while "patch" involves a temporary repair or an update to software to address issues or improve functionality.
Difference Between Fix and Patch
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Fixes are permanent solutions to problems, addressing the root cause to prevent recurrence. A fix ensures the issue is resolved completely, often requiring detailed analysis and implementation. On the other hand, patches are typically temporary or incremental updates. They are applied to quickly address issues without extensive changes, often used in software to fix bugs or add minor improvements.
Fixes often involve more comprehensive efforts, including redesign or rewriting of code. Whereas patches can be simpler and faster to apply, serving as quick solutions until a more thorough fix can be implemented.
A fix might require downtime or significant changes to a system, ensuring the problem is eradicated. Patches, however, are designed to be applied with minimal disruption, often while the system remains operational.
In software, a fix might be part of a major update or release, addressing multiple issues at once. Patches are more focused, targeting specific vulnerabilities or bugs that need immediate attention.
Comparison Chart
Nature
Permanent solution
Temporary or incremental update
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Scope
Comprehensive
Targeted and specific
Application
Extensive and detailed
Quick and minimal
Disruption
Potentially significant
Minimal
Timing
Part of major updates
Applied as needed
Compare with Definitions
Fix
To prepare or set up something.
She fixed dinner for the guests.
Patch
A temporary repair to cover a defect.
He patched the hole in the tire.
Fix
To correct or set right; adjust
Fix a misspelling.
Fix the out-of-date accounts.
Patch
A small area of something different from its surroundings.
The cat has a white patch on its fur.
Fix
To restore to proper condition or working order; repair
Fix a broken machine.
Patch
A piece of material used to cover a hole.
She sewed a patch on her jeans.
Fix
To make ready for a specific purpose, as by altering or combining elements; prepare
Fixed the room for the guests.
Fix lunch for the kids.
Patch
A small area of land.
They grew vegetables in a small garden patch.
Fix
To spay or castrate (an animal).
Patch
A small piece of material affixed to another, larger piece to conceal, reinforce, or repair a worn area, hole, or tear.
Fix
To influence the outcome or actions of (something) by improper or unlawful means
Fix a prizefight.
Fix a jury.
Patch
A small piece of cloth used for patchwork.
Fix
(Informal) To take revenge upon (someone); get even with.
Patch
A small cloth badge affixed to a garment as a decoration or an insignia, as of a military unit.
Fix
To place securely; make stable or firm
Fixed the tent poles in the ground.
Patch
A dressing or covering applied to protect a wound or sore.
Fix
To secure to another; attach
Fixing the notice to the board with tacks.
Patch
A pad or shield of cloth worn over an eye socket or an injured eye.
Fix
To put into a stable or unalterable form
Tried to fix the conversation in her memory.
Patch
A transdermal patch.
Fix
To make (a chemical substance) nonvolatile or solid.
Patch
See beauty spot.
Fix
(Biology) To convert (nitrogen or carbon) into stable, biologically assimilable compounds.
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.
Fix
To kill and preserve (a specimen) intact for microscopic study.
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.
Fix
To prevent discoloration of (a photographic image) by washing or coating with a chemical preservative.
Patch
An indefinite period of time; a spell
Weathered a difficult patch after losing his job.
Fix
To direct steadily
Fixed her eyes on the road ahead.
Patch
A temporary, removable electronic connection, as one between two components in a communications system.
Fix
To capture or hold
The man with the long beard fixed our attention.
Patch
(Computers) A piece of code added to software in order to fix a bug, especially as a temporary correction between two releases.
Fix
To set or place definitely; establish
Fixed her residence in a coastal village.
Patch
To put a patch or patches on
Patched my pants.
Fix
To determine with accuracy; ascertain
Fixed the date of the ancient artifacts.
Patch
To make by sewing scraps of material together
Patch a quilt.
Fix
To agree on; arrange
Fix a time to meet.
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.
Fix
To assign; attribute
Fixing the blame.
Patch
To connect temporarily (electronic components), as with a patch cord.
Fix
(Computers) To convert (data) from floating-point notation to fixed-point notation.
Patch
(Computers) To correct a bug in (an item of software), especially as a temporary correction between releases.
Fix
To direct one's efforts or attention; concentrate
We fixed on the immediate goal.
Patch
(Electronics) To be connected temporarily.
Fix
To become stable or firm; harden
Fresh plaster will fix in a few hours.
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.
Fix
Chiefly Southern US To be on the verge of; to be making preparations for. Used in progressive tenses with the infinitive
We were fixing to leave without you.
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.
Fix
The act of adjusting, correcting, or repairing.
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.
Fix
(Informal) Something that repairs or restores; a solution
No easy fix for an intractable problem.
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.
Fix
The position, as of a ship or aircraft, determined by visual observations with the aid of equipment.
Patch
A small area, a small plot of land or piece of ground.
Scattered patches of trees or growing corn.
Fix
A clear determination or understanding
A briefing that gave us a fix on the current situation.
Patch
A local region of professional responsibility.
Fix
An instance of arranging a special consideration, such as an exemption from a requirement, or an improper or illegal outcome, especially by means of bribery.
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.
Fix
A difficult or embarrassing situation; a predicament
"If we get left on this wreck we are in a fix" (Mark Twain).
Patch
(medicine) A piece of material used to cover a wound.
Fix
(Slang) An amount or dose of something craved, especially an intravenous injection of a narcotic.
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.
Fix
To pierce; now generally replaced by transfix.
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.
Fix
(Of a piercing look) to direct at someone.
He fixed me with a sickly grin, and said, "I told you it wouldn't work!"
Patch
A block on the muzzle of a gun, to do away with the effect of dispart, in sighting.
Fix
(transitive) To attach; to affix; to hold in place or at a particular time.
A dab of chewing gum will fix your note to the bulletin board.
A leech can fix itself to your skin without you feeling it.
The Constitution fixes the date when Congress must meet.
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.
Fix
To focus or determine (oneself, on a concept); to fixate.
She's fixed on the idea of becoming a doctor.
Patch
(firearms) A small piece of material that is manually passed through a gun barrel to clean it.
Fix
To prevent enemy pawns from advancing by directly opposing the most advanced one with one of one's own pawns so as to threaten to capture any advancing backward pawns.
Patch
(firearms) A piece of greased cloth or leather used as wrapping for a rifle ball, to make it fit the bore.
Fix
(transitive) To mend, to repair.
That heater will start a fire if you don't fix it.
You can't fix stupid.
Patch
A cable connecting two pieces of electrical equipment.
Soundboard patch
Fix
To prepare (food or drink).
She fixed dinner for the kids.
Patch
(music) A sound setting for a musical synthesizer (originally selected by means of a patch cable).
Fix
(transitive) To make (a contest, vote, or gamble) unfair; to privilege one contestant or a particular group of contestants, usually before the contest begins; to arrange immunity for defendants by tampering with the justice system via bribery or extortion.
A majority of voters believed the election was fixed in favor of the incumbent.
Patch
An overlay used to obtain a stronger impression.
Fix
To surgically render an animal, especially a pet, infertile.
Rover stopped digging under the fence after we had the vet fix him.
Patch
A butterfly of the genus Chlosyne.
Fix
To map a (point or subset) to itself.
Patch
(archaic) A paltry fellow; a rogue; a ninny; a fool.
Fix
To take revenge on, to best; to serve justice on an assumed miscreant.
He got caught breaking into lockers, so a couple of guys fixed him after work.
Patch
To mend by sewing on a piece or pieces of cloth, leather, or the like
My coat needs patching.
Fix
(transitive) To render (a photographic impression) permanent by treating with such applications as will make it insensitive to the action of light.
Patch
To mend with pieces; to repair by fastening pieces on.
Fix
To convert into a stable or available form.
Legumes are valued in crop rotation for their ability to fix nitrogen.
Patch
To make out of pieces or patches, like a quilt.
Fix
(intransitive) To become fixed; to settle or remain permanently; to cease from wandering; to rest.
Patch
To join or unite the pieces of; to patch the skirt.
Fix
(intransitive) To become firm, so as to resist volatilization; to cease to flow or be fluid; to congeal; to become hard and malleable, as a metallic substance.
Patch
To employ a temporary, removable electronic connection, as one between two components in a communications system.
Fix
A repair or corrective action.
That plumber's fix is much better than the first one's.
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.
Fix
A difficult situation; a quandary or dilemma; a predicament.
It rained before we repaired the roof, and were we in a fix!
Patch
(computing) To make the changes a patch describes; to apply a patch to the files in question. Hence:
Fix
(informal) A single dose of an addictive drug administered to a drug user.
Patch
To fix or improve a computer program without a complete upgrade.
Fix
A prearrangement of the outcome of a supposedly competitive process, such as a sporting event, a game, an election, a trial, or a bid.
Patch
To make a quick and possibly temporary change to a program.
Fix
A determination of location.
We have a fix on your position.
Patch
To connect two pieces of electrical equipment using a cable.
I'll need to patch the preamp output to the mixer.
Fix
(US) fettlings (mixture used to line a furnace)
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.
Fix
Fixed; solidified.
Patch
A small piece of anything used to repair a breach; as, a patch on a kettle, a roof, etc.
Fix
To make firm, stable, or fast; to set or place permanently; to fasten immovably; to establish; to implant; to secure; to make definite.
An ass's nole I fixed on his head.
O, fix thy chair of grace, that all my powersMay also fix their reverence.
His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.
And fix far deeper in his head their stings.
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.
Fix
To hold steadily; to direct unwaveringly; to fasten, as the eye on an object, the attention on a speaker.
Sat fixed in thought the mighty Stagirite.
One eye on death, and one full fix'd on heaven.
Patch
A piece of greased cloth or leather used as wrapping for a rifle ball, to make it fit the bore.
Fix
To transfix; to pierce.
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.
Fix
To render (an impression) permanent by treating with a developer to make it insensible to the action of light.
Patch
A block on the muzzle of a gun, to do away with the effect of dispart, in sighting.
Fix
To put in order; to arrange; to dispose of; to adjust; to set to rights; to set or place in the manner desired or most suitable; hence, to repair; as, to fix the clothes; to fix the furniture of a room.
Patch
A paltry fellow; a rogue; a ninny; a fool.
Fix
To line the hearth of (a puddling furnace) with fettling.
Patch
To mend by sewing on a piece or pieces of cloth, leather, or the like; as, to patch a coat.
Fix
To become fixed; to settle or remain permanently; to cease from wandering; to rest.
Your kindness banishes your fear,Resolved to fix forever here.
Patch
To mend with pieces; to repair with pieces festened on; to repair clumsily; as, to patch the roof of a house.
Fix
To become firm, so as to resist volatilization; to cease to flow or be fluid; to congeal; to become hard and malleable, as a metallic substance.
Patch
To adorn, as the face, with a patch or patches.
Ladies who patched both sides of their faces.
Fix
A position of difficulty or embarassment; predicament; dilemma.
Is he not living, then? No. is he dead, then? No, nor dead either. Poor Aroar can not live, and can not die, - so that he is in an almighty fix.
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.
Fix
Fettling.
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
Fix
Informal terms for a difficult situation;
He got into a terrible fix
He made a muddle of his marriage
Patch
A small area of ground covered by specific vegetation;
A bean plot
A cabbage patch
A briar patch
Fix
Something craved, especially an intravenous injection of a narcotic drug;
She needed a fix of chocolate
Patch
A piece of cloth used as decoration or to mend or cover a hole
Fix
The act of putting something in working order again
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
Fix
An exemption granted after influence (e.g., money) is brought to bear;
Collusion resulted in tax fixes for gamblers
Patch
A short set of commands to correct a bug in a computer program
Fix
A determination of the location of something;
He got a good fix on the target
Patch
A connection intended to be used for a limited time
Fix
Restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken;
She repaired her TV set
Repair my shoes please
Patch
Sewing or darning that repairs a worn or torn hole (especially in a garment);
Her stockings had several mends
Fix
Cause to be firmly attached;
Fasten the lock onto the door
She fixed her gaze on the man
Patch
A protective cloth covering for an injured eye
Fix
Decide upon or fix definitely;
Fix the variables
Specify the parameters
Patch
A piece of soft material that covers and protects an injured part of the body
Fix
Prepare for eating by applying heat;
Cook me dinner, please
Can you make me an omelette?
Fix breakfast for the guests, please
Patch
To join or unite the pieces of;
Patch the skirt
Fix
Take vengeance on or get even;
We'll get them!
That'll fix him good!
This time I got him
Patch
Provide with a patch; also used metaphorically;
The field was patched with snow
Fix
Set or place definitely;
Let's fix the date for the party!
Patch
Mend by putting a patch on;
Patch a hole
Fix
Kill, preserve, and harden (tissue) in order to prepare for microscopic study
Patch
Repair by adding pieces;
She pieced the china cup
Fix
Make fixed, stable or stationary;
Let's fix the picture to the frame
Patch
An update to software correcting issues.
The developers released a patch for the security flaw.
Fix
Make infertile;
In some countries, people with genetically transmissible disbilites are sterilized
Fix
Put (something somewhere) firmly;
She posited her hand on his shoulder
Deposit the suitcase on the bench
Fix your eyes on this spot
Fix
Make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc;
Get the children ready for school!
Prepare for war
I was fixing to leave town after I paid the hotel bill
Fix
To resolve a problem permanently.
The mechanic fixed the car's engine.
Fix
To make something whole or functional again.
She fixed the broken vase with glue.
Fix
To determine or decide upon something.
They fixed the date for the wedding.
Fix
To stabilize or secure in place.
He fixed the bookshelf to the wall.
Common Curiosities
What is a patch?
A temporary or incremental update to address specific issues.
What is a fix?
A permanent solution to a problem or error.
Why are patches used in software?
To quickly address bugs or vulnerabilities without extensive changes.
Is a patch disruptive?
Patches are designed to be applied with minimal disruption.
Do fixes require more time than patches?
Yes, fixes often involve more detailed work and analysis.
Can a patch lead to a permanent fix?
Yes, patches can be applied temporarily until a fix is implemented.
Can patches be permanent solutions?
Sometimes, but they are generally intended as temporary fixes.
Can patches be undone?
Yes, patches can often be reverted if they cause issues.
Is a fix always better than a patch?
Not necessarily; fixes are comprehensive, but patches provide quick solutions.
Do fixes address the root cause of an issue?
Yes, fixes aim to resolve the underlying problem completely.
Are fixes part of major updates?
Often, fixes are included in major software updates.
Do fixes require extensive testing?
Typically, yes, to ensure the problem is completely resolved.
Can a patch be applied while the system is running?
Yes, patches are usually designed to be applied without stopping the system.
Can both fixes and patches improve system performance?
Yes, both can enhance functionality and stability.
Are patches specific to certain issues?
Yes, patches target specific bugs or vulnerabilities.
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Written by
Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Maham Liaqat
